Authorization To Manufacture and Distribute Postage Evidencing Systems
| Published date | 20 May 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 30671 |
| Record Number | 2020-10245 |
| Section | Proposed rules |
| Court | Postal Service |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 98 (Wednesday, May 20, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 98 (Wednesday, May 20, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 30671]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10245]
[[Page 30671]]
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POSTAL SERVICE
39 CFR Part 501
Authorization To Manufacture and Distribute Postage Evidencing
Systems
AGENCY: Postal ServiceTM.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Postal Service proposes to withdraw all authorizations to
distribute Postage Evidencing Systems (PES) that are not producing
compliant Intelligent Mail Indicia (IMI) on June 30th, 2024. IMI
compliant PES are defined in the IMI Performance Criteria (IMIPC) and
produce only IMI-Minimum (IMI-MIN), IMI-Standard (IMI-STD), and IMI-
Maximum (IMI-MAX) indicia constructs (as stated in the Performance
Criteria). All PES that are not IMIPC compliant, also referenced as
Phase VI-IBI and Phase VII-PC Postage, will become Decertified PES on
that date, and the Postal Service will withdraw the provider's
authority to distribute Decertified PES. Postage indicia printed by
Decertified PES will no longer be considered valid postage one hundred
and eighty (180) days after June 30th, 2024.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 19, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Mail or deliver written comments to: Director, Commercial
Payment, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Room 3500, Washington, DC 20260.
Emailed and faxed comments will not be accepted. You may inspect and
photocopy all written comments, by appointment only, at the USPS
Headquarter Library, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, 11th Floor North,
Washington, DC 20260. These records are available for review on Monday
through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., by calling (202) 268-2904. All
submitted comments and attachments are part of the public record and
subject to disclosure. Do not enclose any material in your comments
that you consider to be confidential or inappropriate for public
disclosure.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ezana Dessie, Principal Business
Systems Analyst, [email protected], 202-268-5686.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USPS (through regulations) manages the
authorization, manufacturing, distribution, and decertification of
Postage Evidencing Systems (PES); in addition, it establishes the PES
Performance Criteria (PC). In 2000, the USPS implemented the first PES
PC using the Information Based Indicia Program (IBIP); the IBIP started
the movement from physical to digital PES transition. On February 4th,
2013, the USPS published an updated PES PC, the Intelligent Mail
Indicia Performance Criteria (IMI-PC). Since its publication, the IMI-
PC has undergone multiple updates; the current version in use is IMI-PC
1.5C, which was released on February 19th, 2019.
The Phase VI and Phase VII meters rely on the IBIP, which is an
indicia format established over 19 years ago. Phase VI meters (both
Closed and Open) are postage systems set exclusively via a modem or the
internet, where a 2D barcode utilizing National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST)-certified digital signatures provides integrity
and authenticity to the postage evidence imprint. The Phase VII meters
are postage systems wherein postage transactions created via Postal
Security Devices (PSD) are approved under the IBIP and located within
the Provider's infrastructure and the indicia; postage paid evidence is
delivered via the internet to the remote user.
Phase VI and Phase VII PES no longer meet the USPS PES requirements
adequately. The decertification of the Phase VI and Phase VII PES will
allow for the full implementation of Phase VIII-IMI PES, in which both
PC Postage and physical PES are validated under the current edition of
the IMI-PC. The implementation of the IMI-PC was announced in the
Federal Register on February 4th, 2013 (Vol. 78, No. 23, pages 7820-
7821). In that notice, the Postal Service set forth an implementation
schedule which stated new PES submissions after October 1st, 2013 must
adhere to the then-currently effective IM-PC.
The Postal Service expected providers to update their systems to
adhere to the IMI-PC within a few years after the publication of IMI-
PC. However, little progress was made since 2013, until recently. Some
providers did make great strides in IMI-PC compliance over the past
three years, while others are still in the initial stage of their
compliance work. This disparity has led to unequal PES compliance
management/enforcement and in some instances afforded providers an
unanticipated opportunity to market their non-compliant PES as a
customer selling point.
In recent months, Commercial Payment has engaged with the providers
to understand their short-term and long-term strategies to fully
implement PESs that are compliant with the IMI-PC as well as to review
their plans for phasing out non-compliant PES. After assessing the
providers' input, weighing the USPS business/service needs, and
determining potential impact to our customers, the Postal Service
believes it has struck a balance between these competing objectives by
setting June 30th, 2024 as the decertification date for non-IMI-PC-
complaint PESs. This target date allows the providers to plan and
execute their PES decertification for Phase VI and Phase VII PES
(meters) with minimal impact to customers as they transition IBI PC
Postage PES to IMI-PC compliant PES.
List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 501
Administrative practice and procedure, Postal Service.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Postal Service proposes
to amend 39 CFR part 501 as follows:
PART 501--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 501 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 39 U.S.C. 101, 401, 403, 404, 410,
2601, 2605; Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended (Pub. L. 95-
452, as amended); 5 U.S.C. App. 3.
0
2. Amend Sec. 501.7 by revising paragraph (c) to read as follows:
Sec. 501.7 Postage Evidencing System requirements.
* * * * *
(c) The provider must ensure that any matter printed by a Postage
Evidencing System, whether within the boundaries of the indicia or
outside the clear zone as defined in DMM 604.4.0 and the Intelligent
Mail Performance Criteria (IMI-PC), is:
* * * * *
0
3. Amend Sec. 501.20 by revising paragraph (b) to read as follows:
Sec. 501.20 Discontinued Postage Evidencing Indicia.
* * * * *
(b) Effective June 30, 2024, all Postage Evidencing Systems will be
required to produce Intelligent Mail Indicia (IMI) for evidence of pre-
paid postage. Non-IMI indicia, which are not compliant with the then-
current version of the IMI-PC, will be decertified and may not be used
as a valid form of postage evidence. These decertified indicia may not
be recognized as valid postage after December 27, 2024.
Joshua J. Hofer,
Attorney, Federal Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2020-10245 Filed 5-19-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P
