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Through Which The Regime Of Postal Services Is Established And Other Provisions

Original Language Title: Por medio de la cual se establece el régimen de los servicios postales y se dictan otras disposiciones

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1369 OF 2009

(December 30)

Official Journal No. 47.578 of 30 December 2009

CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC

By means of which the postal services regime is established and other provisions are dictated.

Vigency Notes Summary

COLOMBIA CONGRESS

DECRETA:

TITLE I.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES.

ARTICLE 1o. SCOPE, OBJECT AND SCOPE. This law states the general scheme for the provision of postal services and the relevant, to entities entrusted with the regulation of these services, which are a public service in the terms of the Article 365 of the Political Constitution. Its performance shall be subject to the regulation, surveillance and control of the State, subject to the principles of quality, efficiency and universality, understood as the progressive access to the population throughout the national territory.

Postal Services are under the ownership of the State, which for its benefit, may enable public and private companies in the terms of this law.

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ARTICLE 2o. OBJECTIVES OF STATE INTERVENTION. State intervention in postal services shall have the following objectives:

1. Ensure the efficient, optimal and timely delivery of postal services.

2. Ensure the provision of the Universal Postal Service.

3. Ensure the right to information and the inviolability of correspondence.

4. Ensure that the rates allow to recover the efficient costs of service delivery and that they reflect the different levels of quality offered by the Postcard Operators.

5. Promote free competition and avoid abuses of dominant positions and restrictive practices in competition.

6. Encourage operators to incorporate technological advances in the provision of postal services.

7. Sanction failures in the provision of services and failure to comply with current regulations.

8. Facilitate the economic development of the country.

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ARTICLE 3o. DEFINITIONS. For all purposes, the following definitions are adopted:

1. Universal Postal Service. It is the set of quality postal services, provided on a permanent basis and at affordable prices, which the State guarantees to all inhabitants of the national territory regardless of their geographical location through the Operator Postal Officer or Mail Dealer.

2. Postal Services. The postal services consist of the development of the activities of reception, classification, transport and delivery of postal objects through postal networks, within the country or for sending to other countries or reception from the outside. These are postal services, among others, mail services, postal services and express courier services.

2.1 Mail Service. Postal Services provided by the Official Postal Operator or Mail Dealer:

2.1.1 Correspondence Shipments. It is the service by which the Official Postal Operator or Mail Dealer receives, classifies, transports, and delivers postal items.

2.1.1.1 Priority and non-priority mail of up to two (2) kilograms.

2.1.1.1.1 Priority mail shipments. Shipments up to 2 kg of weight transported by the fastest track, without guidance and without follow-up.

2.1.1.1.2 Non-priority mail shipments. Shipments in which the sender has chosen a lower rate, which implies a longer, no-guide, and no-tracking distribution deadline.

2.1.2 Encomienda. Compulsory service for the Official Postal Operator or Mail Dealership, consisting of the reception, sorting, transport and non-urgent delivery, of postal items, goods, packages or any article of permitted circulation on the national or international territory, with or without declared value, up to a weight of 30 kg, as established by the Universal Postal Union.

2.1.3 Telegraphic Mail Service: Transmission of telegrams and their transmission by the operator enabled to deliver the telegraph service, and later delivery to a recipient in a physical manner.

2.1.4 Other Mail Services. All those services that are classified as such by the Universal Postal Union.

2.2 Postcard Payment Services. A set of payment services provided through the use of the postal infrastructure exclusively.

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Payment postal services are considered among others:

2.2.1 National Giros. Service through which payments are ordered to natural or legal persons on behalf of others, in the national territory, through a postal network. The shipping mode can be among others, physical or electronic.

2.2.2 International Giros. Service provided exclusively by the official Postal Operator or Mail dealership, by which money is sent to natural or legal persons on behalf of others, abroad. The shipping mode can be either physical or electronic.

International turns are subject to the provisions of Law 9 of 1991, its modifications, additions and regulations.

2.2.3 Others. Services that the Universal Postal Union classifies as such.

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2.3 Express Messaging Service. Urgent postal service that requires the application and adoption of special features for the reception, collection, classification, transport and delivery of postal items up to 5 kilograms. This weight will be regulated by the Communications Regulatory Commission.

The express messaging service must have at least the following features:

a) Individual record. Any express courier service must have an individual identification number that meets the times of admission or guidance.

b) Home collection. At the request of the client.

c) Shipping Course: All express courier shipping must be cured, with a copy of the intake receipt attached to the shipment.

d) Delivery time. The express messaging service is characterized by the speed of delivery.

e) Delivery Test: This is the record of the date, delivery time, and identification of who receives.

f) Trace. It is the ability to track the shipment course from receipt to delivery.

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2.4 Other Postcard Services. Services that the Universal Postal Union classifies as such.

3. Postal Objects. Objects with recipients, presented in the final form in which they are to be transported by the Postal Service Operator. Postal items are considered among other cards, postcards, telegrams, statements of accounts, receipts of all kinds, printed, newspapers, cecograms, advertising, merchandise and small packages. The following postal objects are defined below:

3.1 Letter. It is all written communication of a personal character with an indication of sender and recipient, mobilized by the postal networks.

Your weight can be up to two (2) kilograms.

3.2 Iminmates. It's all kind of paper printing or other material.

Print includes, brochures, catalogues, periodic press, and magazines up to two (2) kg.

3.3 Telegrama. It is a written and brief communication to be delivered through the telegraphic mail service.

3.4 Cecogram. Impressions using signs of ultrasound in the braille, braille ink or high relief system intended exclusively for the use of people who are not sighted or with visual limitation. Included within the cecograms are books, magazines, digital spoken books, and paper intended for the use of the blind. The cecograms have a weight of up to seven (7) kg.

3.5 Saca M. Saca that contains journals, periodicals, and similar printed documents, consigned to the address of the same recipient and to the same destination, up to thirty (30) kg.

3.6 Massive postal objects. A plural number of postal objects that are delivered to a postal operator to be distributed among a plural of recipients.

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3.7 Small package. It is an object of up to two (2) kg of weight.

The cecograms, the M-Sacks, and the telegrams can only be transported by the Official Postal Operator or Mail Dealer.

4 Postcard Operator. It is the legal person, enabled by the Ministry of Information Technology and the Communications of Information and Communications Technologies that offers the general public postal services, through a postal network. Postal service operators can have three categories:

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4.1 Official Postal Operator or Mail Dealer. Legal person, enabled by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies, which shall, by means of a concession contract, provide the postal postal service and, by means of enabling, the express courier services and postal services for payment, at national and international level.

The Universal Postal Service referred to in article 13 of this law, the Franchise, the international spin service and the reservation area indicated in the article 15 of this law, shall be provided by the Official Postal Operator exclusively in accordance with the provisions of this law.

4.2 Payment Postcard Operator. Legal person, enabled by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies to provide postal services for payment, and is subject to the regulation that in matters of asset laundering has the law and its decrees regulatory.

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4.3 Express Messaging Operator. It is the legal person, enabled by the Ministry of Communications to offer the public an urgent postal service regardless of the official postal networks of national and international mail, which requires the application and adoption of special features for reception, collection, sorting, transport and delivery.

5 Franchises. Law acquired by certain legal persons, public or private, in order to exempt themselves from the payment of the fee for the dispatch of postal services of correspondence and telegraphic mail provided by the Official Postal Operator or mail, at the time of their imposition. The scheme of financing of the franchises shall be governed by the provisions of Article 47 of this Law.

6 Consolidation. Act by which an operator integrates multiple postal objects into a single postal package.

7 Postcards. They are the set of facilities, equipment and other devices for the provision of postal services offered to the general public directly or indirectly by the Postal Service Operators. They are part of the Postal Network, the points of attention to postal service users.

8 Sender. Natural or legal person who uses postal services, in order to send postal items, to a local, national or international recipient.

9 Recipient. Natural or legal person to whom a postal object is addressed by the sender.

10 Register of Postcard Operators. It is a listing opened by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies for Postcard Operators to register as such, including and updating the information requested in accordance with this law.

The application for enablement must be resolved by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies within the term to be set by the respective regulations.

11 Self-Benefit. The postal services of postal objects in which the same natural or legal person intervenes, without the use of the postal networks to manage their own postal items. This law does not apply to the self-provision of postal services.

TITLE II.

CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR POSTAL OPERATORS.

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ARTICLE 4. REQUIREMENTS TO BE A POSTAL OPERATOR. To be a postal operator, it is required to be enabled by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies and to be registered in the register of postal operators. The enablement by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies will cause periodic consideration in favor of the Information and Communications Technologies Fund, and will be granted in advance to the the following requirements:

a) Credit to be a legally established national or foreign legal person in Colombia and that its principal social object is the provision of postal services.

b) Demonstrate a minimum social capital of one thousand (1,000) current minimum statutory statutory wages.

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c) Define the characteristics of the service to be provided in terms of the geographical scope in which it will develop its activity; type of service to be provided; and operational structure, which will ensure the suitability and capacity to provide the service. The operational conditions shall be verified by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies.

d) Pay the amount derived from your pre-subscription to the subscription or issue of the corresponding enabling administrative act.

The term of duration of the enabling title for the provision of postal services may not exceed ten years. Extensions shall not be free or automatic. The interested party must express its intention of extending it three months in advance of its expiration.

The Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies may lay down additional requirements for postal operators as regards the assets and characteristics of the network. It shall be the obligation of the operator to update the modifications of the data contained in the register of postal operators within three months of the date of such changes taking place.

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PARAGRAFO 1o. For operators applying for the first time to enable them as postal operators, the requirement for operational structure in literal (c) of this article will be understood to be fulfilled with the Presentation of a detailed plan on the technical specifications of the postal network that will implement to provide its services, which must contemplate the national coverage in which it will develop its activity within the three (3) months to receive the respective enablement. This requirement shall be verified by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies after the deadline has been met.

PARAGRAFO 2o. For the particular case of the Payment Postcard Operators, the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications will regulate within twelve (12) months of the issue of this law, the requirements of the patrimonial type and the mitigation of risks, which must be credited for obtaining the respective Enabling Title, additional to those referred to in the literals a, c and d of this article. Companies that currently provide the postal money order through the National Postal Services will be guaranteed to be operational with the fulfillment of the requirements.

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ARTICLE 5o. REQUIREMENTS TO BE AN OFFICIAL POSTAL OPERATOR OR MAIL DEALER. To be an Official Postal Operator or Mail Dealer you will need to have the character of the Postal Operator and, additionally, a concession contract awarded by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies to provide the postal postal service exclusively.

For the provision of the other postal services, the Official Postal Operator must comply with the requirements outlined in this law for the granting of the respective ratings.

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ARTICLE 6o. CONCESSION CONTRACT. The concession contract for the Official Postal Operator or Mail Dealership shall be governed by the General Staff Regulations of Public Administration.

The term of the concession for the provision of the Mail Services may not exceed ten (10) years, but may be extended before its expiration on equal terms to the originally agreed upon, without this implying that the renewal is free of charge. However, the concession contract in force at the date of enactment of this law shall continue until its expiration and shall be extended in the terms hereof.

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ARTICLE 7o. FREE ACCESS TO POSTAL NETWORKS. Any Postal Operator may use all or part of the Postal Networks of any other Operator, provided that it pays the corresponding fees, unless the Network Operator is intended to use, demonstrates that technically it cannot offer such access. Consideration of the Information and Communications Technologies Fund shall be required only for the first operator.

PARAGRAFO. They are not considered to be postal networks, those of legal persons who do not have the respective habilitation services to the general public. Accordingly, any shipment using the same will be considered illegal and subject to the corresponding penalties.

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ARTICLE 8o. CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR POSTAL OPERATORS. All Postal Operators shall have the contractual regime of Private Law.

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ARTICLE 9o. USE OF THE "POSTAL CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA".

The Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies will structure, manage and disseminate the postal coding system known as the "Postal Code of the Republic of Colombia", and will define the mechanisms for the dissemination of such information. Code.

The national and territorial entities shall adopt the Postal Code, within the time limits and conditions established by the National Government.

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ARTICLE 10. OF THE FILLATELICO SERVICE. The Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies is the only one authorized to issue postage stamps officially, and will be able to take custody of new issues, promotion, sale and development. commercial of the filatelia through the Official Postal Operator or Dealership of Mail, leaving to the Ministry reserved for these purposes the use of the terms "Colombia" and "Republic of Colombia" and anyone who identifies the State or National Territory. This stamp will be integrated into national and international collections.

The Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies should be governed by the international standard of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), which establishes the conditions for the issue of postage stamps by each of the Member countries ' official postal operators.

The Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies will be responsible for setting policies, guidelines and guidelines that regulate the provision of philatelic service, as well as the promotion of philatelic culture through stamps and postal philatelic products.

PARAGRAFO 1o. The Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies will refrain from issuing postage stamps, when in the rule that orders them, the mechanism and source of financing are not clearly expressed.

PARAGRAFO 2o. The Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies may only issue with the Information and Communications Technologies Fund, the postal stamps of the Universal Postal Union (UPU- and of the Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal-UPAEP.

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TITLE III.

RATE REGIME.

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ARTICLE 11. COMPETENT ENTITY. The Commission for Regulatory Communications-CRC, is the competent authority to regulate the rate regime and the quality levels of the Postal Services other than those belonging to the Postal Service. Universal.

PARAGRAFO 1o. Contribution to the CRC. In order to recover the costs of the regulatory service provided by the CRC, the persons and entities subject to its regulation shall pay an annual contribution which shall be settled on the gross receipts they obtain in the year before where the contribution corresponds, by the provision of telecommunications networks and services (excluding terminals) or by the provision of postal services, and the tariff, which shall be fixed for each year by the Commission itself, may not exceed of one per thousand (0.1%).

For the determination of the tariff, the Commission shall take into account the budgeted cost of the regulatory service for the respective year, and shall address the following rules:

(a) The cost of the service shall mean all of the Commission's operating and investment expenses, including depreciation, amortization or obsolescence of its assets, in the annual period to which the contribution corresponds.

b) The reference cost for fixing the tariff should be determined taking into account the draft budget, presented to the Congress of the Republic, for the year in which the contribution is to be paid. If, at the time the tariff is fixed, the respective budget law has already been issued, the reference cost shall be that set out in that law.

(c) The Commission shall make an estimate of the gross income of the taxpayer based on the information at the time of issue of the resolution by which the fee is fixed. This information may, among other sources, come from the information provided by the taxpayer or from information crossings with other entities.

d) The rate fixed must be that which, applied to the taxable base referred to in literal (c) of this article, will only throw what is necessary to cover the cost of the service.

e) The sum in charge of each taxpayer shall be equivalent to applying the rate set by the CRC to the taxable base set out in the first paragraph of this article.

(f) Corresponding to the CRC shall establish the procedures for the settlement and payment of the contribution, as well as exercise the corresponding functions of oversight, imposition of sanctions and coactive recovery.

Without prejudice to special rules, the penalties for failure to comply with the obligations relating to the contribution shall be the same as laid down in the Tax Statute for income tax and complementary.

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PARAGRAFO 2o. The gross receipts obtained during the year 2010 for the provision of telecommunications networks and services (excluding terminals) or for the provision of postal services, will serve as a tax base for the contribution for the years 2010 and 2011.

The Commission on Communications Regulation will fix the tariff for the year 2010, taking as a reference factor the gross receipts for 2009, and will order the taxpayers to pay an advance equivalent to the sum of the which results from the application of the tariff to be established for the year 2010 to the gross receipts obtained during 2009. That advance shall be charged to the value payable resulting from the final settlement of the contribution for the year 2010 to be made by 30 April 2011 at the latest.

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ARTICLE 12. POSTAL SERVICES TARIFF REGIME. Postal service operators who provide services other than those belonging to the Universal Postal Service, may freely fix the fees charged to their users for the provision of services. of its services. The Communications Regulatory Commission will only be able to regulate these fees when there is not enough competition, a market failure is present, or when the quality of the services offered does not conform to the required levels.

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In the exercise of its regulatory functions, the Regulatory Commission may require the information it deems relevant to ensure that operators do not engage in unfair or restrictive practices or that they constitute abuse of the dominant position and affecting the rights of users of postal services.

PARAGRAFO. The exception of the rate-freedom regime is express messaging services that are intended to distribute mass postal objects and their interconnection between operators, for which the Commission Regulation of Communications shall set a minimum rate within six (6) months of the entry into force of this law.

The activities carried out by the express courier operators other than the reception, classification, transport and delivery of the postal items shall be considered as additional services, which may not be included in the calculation of the minimum rate.

TITLE IV.

UNIVERSAL POSTAL SERVICE.

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ARTICLE 13. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE UNIVERSAL POSTAL SERVICE. The Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies shall determine annually by taking into account the resources available for its financing, the criteria and quality levels in terms of of: frequency, time of delivery, system of complaints, as well as the rates of services belonging to the Universal Postal Service.

The Universal Postal Service provided by the Official Operator or Mail Dealer will be financed with the resources transferred to it by the Information and Communications Technologies Fund from the stipulated contracts. in article 14 of this law, as well as the appropriations included in the General Budget of the Nation of each currency.

The Official Postal Operator or Mail Dealer will not be able to allocate financial resources other than those mentioned in this article to fund the Universal Postal Service.

You will also not be able to fund, with these resources, the provision of the Postal Services that do not have the Universal Postal Service features.

The Official Postal Operator or Mail Dealer, as the responsibility of providing the Universal Postal Service, must keep separate accounts for each of the services it provides. The cost and modality of the operations between each service must be explicitly recorded.

PARAGRAFO. Budget resources to start the separate accounting system. For the purpose of the Official Postal Operator or Mail Dealer, as the person responsible for providing the Universal Postal Service, to adopt a separate system of accounting records in the terms of this Article, it may be for one time to finance the preparation and implementation of such a programme under the Information and Communications Technology Fund of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies.

The Official Postal Operator or concessionaire shall have eighteen (18) months counted from the enactment of this law to comply with the above paragraph.

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ARTICLE 14. CONSIDERATION BY POSTAL OPERATORS.

All operators shall pay the periodic consideration stipulated in Article 4or this law to the Information and Communications Technologies Fund.

The value of the periodic consideration by all postal operators shall be set as a percentage of their gross receipts by way of the provision of postal services, without taking into account the revenue from the postal services. public resources to finance the Universal Postal Service and the Franchises. Such consideration shall be fixed for periods of two (2) years and shall not exceed 3.0% of gross receipts.

Later on the granting of the rating, the operators will have to pay a sum equivalent to one hundred (100) minimum monthly legal salaries in force to be registered in the Register of Postal Operators. Each time ten (10) years of registration is fulfilled, the Operator will pay the sum determined in this literal. If a Postal Operator wishes to also register as a Payment Postcard Operator, you will have to pay the sum previously stipulated by the additional registration. The Registry shall begin to apply from the regulations issued by the National Government regarding the conditions of qualification and registration within three months of the promulgation of this law.

Operators who, upon the entry into force of this law, are enabled to provide postal services, must register within the following three months from the regulations that are issued.

PARAGRAFO 1o. Using the monies received as consideration for the delivery of the postal services. The consideration received by the Ministry of Information Technology and the Communications ordered in this article will be entered into the Information and Communications Technologies Fund and will be used to finance the Postal Service. Universal and to cover the costs of surveillance and control of the Postal Operators.

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PARAGRAFO 2o. The Ministry of Information and Communications Ministry's attributions regarding consideration.

The Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies will have everything necessary for the Operators to liquidate in due time the consideration ordered in this article, for which it may contract with public companies or The audit shall be carried out by the competent authorities

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ARTICLE 15. RESERVATION AREA. The Official Postal Operator or Mail Dealer will be the only authorized to provide the mail services to the entities defined as members of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branch of the Public Power.

Public entities in accordance with the needs of their management will be able to contract express courier services, in accordance with the Law of Procurement that governs them.

PARAGRAFO. Special duties for users in the official sector. The failure of the official entities to perform their duties as users of the postal services, especially as regards the incorporation into the respective budgets of sufficient appropriations and the effective payment of the services used, will be a cause of misconduct.

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ARTICLE 16. SPECIAL CONDITIONS TO BE MET BY THE OPERATOR OF THE OFFICIAL POSTAL SERVICE OR MAIL DEALER. The Official Postal Operator or Dealership must have a postal network with national and international coverage under the terms and conditions that For the purpose, define the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies.

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ARTICLE 17. SPECIAL OBLIGATIONS OF THE OFFICIAL POSTAL OPERATOR OR MAIL DEALER. The Official Postal Operator or Mail Dealer has the following special obligations in the provision of the Universal Postal Service:

1. You may not refuse to receive from the sending user a mailing or postal item that is delivered to you, in compliance with the conditions laid down in the regulations applicable to the Universal Postal Service, provided that the user pays the fee corresponding.

2. It shall provide the Universal Postal Service, without any discrimination between users who are in similar conditions.

3. It may not interrupt or suspend the universal postal service, except for the occurrence of force majeure events, fortuitous cases, or when public order reasons prevent it. The occurrence of the above events should be demonstrated to the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies.

4. You will need to inform users about how they can access the Universal Postal Service, in terms of geographic coverage, type of services, delivery times, and rates applicable to each.

TITLE V.

POSTAL REGULATION, CONTROL, AND SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITIES.

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ARTICLE 18. MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES.

The National Government through the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies will set the general policy of the Postal Services within the general framework of the Communications Policy.

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To this end, it will be guided by the International Treaties on postal matters ratified by Colombia.

The Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies will establish the special policies and coverage of the Universal Postal Service provided by the Official Postal Operator or Mail Dealer.

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At the same time, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies will have the following specific functions in relation to the Postal Services:

1. Act as the Inspection, Control and Surveillance Authority in respect of all Postal Operators, with the exception of monitoring compliance with the rules relating to the protection of competition, consumer protection and consumer protection. asset laundering.

2. Advance investigations to establish possible violations of the postal services regime and impose the penalties provided for in this law.

3. Regulate what is concerning philately.

4. Organize, update and regulate the Register of Postal Operators.

5. Act as the contracting entity of the Official Postal Operator or Mail Dealer.

6. To issue the Technical Regulations, to take into account the rules on prior disclosure of any project.

7. Manage the allocation of budget resources, with the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit and the National Department of Planning, when necessary to finance the Universal Postal Service.

8. To promote under the direction of the President of the Republic, and in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the international negotiations related to the Postal Services and to participate in the international conferences that on the same sector is carried out. Among other competencies in this field, he will propose, together with the Foreign Ministry, the presentation of bills to Congress to ratify the International Treaties signed by Colombia.

PARAGRAFO. The National Government will proceed to adjust the structure of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies to comply with the obligations acquired in this law, creating a in charge of Postal Affairs, within six (6) months of its entry into force.

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ARTICLE 19. THE COMMUNICATIONS REGION COMMISSION-CRC.

It will have the function of regulating the postal market, in order to promote free competition, so that users benefit from efficient services.

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ARTICLE 20. CRC REGULATORY FUNCTIONS The CRC will have the following regulatory functions in postal matters:

1. To promote and regulate free and fair competition for the provision of postal services, to regulate monopolies where competition does not make it possible, and to prevent unfair conduct and commercial practices restricting competition or which they constitute abuses of a dominant position, by means of general regulations or special measures, and may propose rules of differential behaviour, depending on the position of the undertakings on the market, where it has been previously established the existence of a market failure, in accordance with the law.

2. Regulate the technical and economic aspects related to different kinds of postal services, different from those included in the Universal Postal Service.

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3. To issue all general and special rules on matters relating to the tariff regime, the system of user protection, the quality parameters of the services, the efficiency criteria and the solution of the disputes between postal service operators.

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4. To set indicators and targets for the quality and efficiency of postal services other than those within the Universal Postal Service and to impose quality, coverage and efficiency indices on one or more operators for certain services.

5. Propose to the National Government the approval of technical standards applicable to the postal sector, according to the recommendation of international bodies experts in the field.

6. To bring to the attention of the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce, conduct that constitutes an eventual infringement against the regime of competition or protection of users.

7. Require for the performance of their functions, comprehensive, accurate, truthful and timely information to postal service operators.

Those who do not provide the above information to the CRC may be subject to the imposition of daily fines by the CRC for up to 100 minimum monthly legal salaries for each day they incur this conduct, according to the severity of the fault and the recidivism in your commission.

8. Establish the single model for delivery tests, with the reasons for returning in accordance with international standards.

9. Resolve any disputes between Postal Service Operators.

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ARTICLE 21. SUPERINTENDENCE OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE. The Superintendence of Industry and Commerce is the competent authority to enforce the rules on Free Competition, Unfair Competition, and Consumer Protection in the services market. postal, in the terms of Law 155 of 1959, Decree 2153 of 1992, Law 1340 of 2009, Laws 256 of 1996 and 510 of 1999 and Decree 3666 of 2002.

PARAGRAFO. The Information and Communications Technologies Fund will provide the financial resources required by the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce to exercise user protection functions. of the communications services.

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ARTICLE 22. SURVEILLANCE OF POSTAL PAYMENT SERVICE OPERATORS. Correspond to the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies to exercise inspection, surveillance and control over the Postal Service Operators, without The Bank of the Republic will be affected by the powers that the Bank of the Republic Bank of the Republic] has to request for information regarding currency transactions and with those that the DIAN [National Intelligence Committee] have in the field of investigations for violations of the exchange rate regime, as well as the Information and Financial Analysis Unit on the control of asset laundering and financing of terrorism.

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ARTICLE 23. CUSTOMS POSTAL CONTACT COMMITTEE. The National Administration of National Taxation and Customs, DIAN, and the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies will establish a Customs Postal Committee for the purpose of updating and developing rules necessary for the efficient intervention of the customs authority in the field of national and international correspondence and consignments, for the benefit of the best quality of postal services.

TITLE VI.

USERS ' RIGHTS AND DUTIES.

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ARTICLE 24. RIGHTS OF USERS. Users of the Postal Services have the right to ensure that Postcard Operators ensure compliance with the following principles:

1. The secrecy and inviolability of postal communications.

2. Respect for the privacy of users.

3. The neutrality and confidentiality of postal services.

4. Equal treatment of the users of the Postal Services who are in similar conditions.

5. To be provided with free service of any kind of discrimination, especially derived from political, religious, ideological, ethnic, etc. considerations.

6. Postal Operators shall ensure that users in the provision of the Postal Services are entitled to the following rights:

(a) The conditions for the provision of each of the Postal Services are widely disclosed, namely: coverage, frequency, time of delivery, fees and processing of petitions and complaints.

b) To be recognized and paid compensation for the loss, removal or breakdown of postal items.

(c) To the return of the postal items that have not been delivered to the recipient and the modification of the address for a new referral, by payment of the corresponding rates, provided that the conditions set by the Operator Postal service for the provision of the service permit. In the case of international shipments, the customs provisions shall be taken into account.

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ARTICLE 25. RIGHTS OF THE SENDING USERS. The submitters of the shipments have the following rights, without prejudice to the relevant judicial actions and the actions conferred on them by the exercise of their fundamental rights:

1. Get the return of shipments that have not been delivered to the recipients.

2. Request the forwarding of your shipments to different places than initially indicated, prior to the payment of the rate that the reissue generates.

When dealing with international reshipments, the customs provisions must be taken into account.

3. Receive the following allowances:

(a) For the basic services of non-priority domestic and international correspondence, there will be no compensation.

(b) In the postal services for payment, in the face of loss or failure to deliver to the recipient of the turn, it will be twice the rate paid by the user plus the value of the turn.

c) Compensation for the loss, removal or breakdown of shipments of the international mail service shall be the value specified in the Conventions or Agreements, signed in the Universal Postal Union.

d) In the priority mail service, the compensation for loss, removal or breakdown shall be five (5) times the value of the fee paid by the user.

e) In case of a shipment with declared value the compensation shall be five (5) times the value of the fee paid by the user.

f) The express courier operators will respond to the loss, breakdown or removal of the shipments and other postal items entrusted to their care and handling:

i) In the express courier service, the compensation for loss, expolation or breakdown, shall be five (5) times the value of the fee paid by the user, up to a maximum of one (1) current legal minimum wage, plus the insured value of the shipment.

ii) In the express courier service in connection with the outside, the compensation for loss, removal or breakdown shall be five (5) times the value of the fee paid by the user, up to a maximum of two (2) minimum monthly legal wages in effect, plus the insured value of the shipment.

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ARTICLE 26. RIGHTS OF THE TARGET USERS. The target users will have the rights that as consumers have established the laws in force and in particular the following:

1. To receive the postal items sent by the sender, with respect to all the conditions of the service disclosed by the Postal Operator.

2. To request and obtain information about mail items and postal items that have been registered in their name, when they are

try services offered and paid by the user with the certificate shipping feature.

3. Those referred to in the international agreements and agreements in force ratified by Colombia.

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ARTICLE 27. MEMBERSHIP OF POSTAL OBJECTS. The postal objects belong to the sender until they are delivered to the recipient.

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ARTICLE 28. USERS ' OBLIGATIONS. Users have the following obligations with the Postcard Operators:

1. Pay the fee for the contracted postal service.

2. Subject to the conditions for the provision of the contracted postal service, provided that they have been expressly and widely disclosed by the postal service operator.

3. Refrain from sending prohibited or dangerous objects, in accordance with the rules in force.

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ARTICLE 29. THE USER ' S RESPONSIBILITY. The sender of a postal object shall be liable for damage to other postal items in the case of shipments whose transport is prohibited by law, by the regulations of the Postal Union Universal, or for failure to comply with the conditions for the release of hazardous substances, unless the sole fault of the Postal Operator is verified.

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ARTICLE 30. POSTAL OPERATORS ' LIABILITY. The postal items once received by the Postal Operator and as long as they do not reach the recipient, will be the responsibility of the Postal Operator and will be liable for non-compliance in the conditions of postal service provision or loss, removal or breakdown of the postal item as long as it is not delivered to the recipient or returned to the sender, as the case may be, in accordance with the provisions of Article 25 of this law.

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ARTICLE 31. LIABILITY EXEMPTIONS FOR POSTAL OPERATORS.

Postal Operators shall not be liable for the failure to comply with the terms of delivery of the postal service or for the loss, removal or breakdown of postal items in the following cases:

1. Where the failure to comply with the conditions for the provision of the postal service or the loss, removal or breakdown of the postal item is due to force majeure or fortuitous cases.

2. When the postal object has been seized or seized in accordance with the procedures laid down in the law.

3. Where there is a lack of precision in the information supplied by the referring user in relation to the contents of the postal object and can be demonstrated with the shipping records processed by the Postal Operator, provided that such imprecision relates to the with the default.

4. When the referring user did not lodge a complaint within the term of ten (10) calendar days for national services and six (6) months for international services, in both counts from the receipt of the postal item by the Postal Operator.

5. When the recipient user did not lodge a claim for the issue or breakdown within five (5) days of receipt of the postal item.

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ARTICLE 32. PROCEDURE FOR THE PROCESSING OF PETITIONS, COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS (PQR), AND REQUESTS FOR COMPENSATION. <Article as amended by Article 70 of Law 1480 of 2011. It is governed from 12 April 2012 (see in previous legislation the text in force until this date). The new text is as follows: > Postal operators must receive and process requests, complaints and appeals (PQR) related to the provision of the service as well as requests for compensation and to resolve them in depth within the fifteen (15) business days following receipt by the postal operator. Against these decisions, the replenishment and appeal grants are taken. The appeal will be served by the authority responsible for the protection of users and consumers. The replenishment facility shall be settled within fifteen (15) working days following its interposition. This term may be extended by an equal term for the practice of testing, if necessary, after reasons. Once the replacement facility has been resolved, the operator shall have a maximum of five (5) working days to forward the file to the competent authority to resolve the appeal, if appropriate.

Elapsed the term to resolve the petition, complaint, replacement resource (PQR) or request for compensation without having resolved in substance and notified the decision, will operate in full the positive administrative silence and understand that the PQR or claim for compensation has been resolved in a favourable manner to the user, without prejudice to the penalties to be applied.

Whenever the user presents a replacement resource to the postal operator, the latter must inform the postal operator in an express and verifiable manner of the right of appeal for the appeal of the replacement, so that, in case of that the response to the replacement remedy is unfavourable to its claims, the competent authority decides in substance.

Vigency Notes
Previous Legislation
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ARTICLE 33. REFUND OF THE COMPENSATION. When the object lost by a Postal Operator is found, the user at his/her choice may request the delivery of the object and therefore be in the obligation to return the compensation received from the Postal Operator or stay definitely with it and not claim the object.

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ARTICLE 34. CLAIMS IN THE CASE OF POSTAL ITEMS REFERRED TO OR RECEIVED FROM OTHER COUNTRIES BY THE OFFICIAL POSTAL OPERATOR. Claims for postal services provided by the Official Postal Operator in connection with the outside shall be governed by the rules adopted by the Universal Postal Union UPU.

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ARTICLE 35. DOCUMENTARY RETENTION. The guides and documents support for delivery, receipt constances and any other documents used by the Postal Operators for the provision of the service and which the same estimates as relevant for their preservation, shall be be kept for a period not less than three (3) years from the date of issue thereof, without prejudice to the terms laid down in special rules. By the end of the preceding period, these documents may be destroyed, provided that the correct reproduction is guaranteed by any appropriate technical means.

TITLE VII.

SANCTIONING REGIME IN THE PROVISION OF POSTAL SERVICES.

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ARTICLE 36. JURISDICTION FOR THE IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS. The Minister for Information and Communications Technologies or his or her delegate shall be the competent official to impose penalties for violations in the provision of the Postal Services.

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ARTICLE 37. POSTAL INFRINGEMENTS. For the purpose of imposing sanctions, the infringements are classified as very serious, serious and minor.

1. Very serious infringements. These are very serious violations of the postal services regime:

a) Preserve the Universal Postal Service without being legally enabled for it.

b) Offering by non-authorized operators of postal mail services to the reserve area established in this law.

c) The use of signs, signs, emblems, advertisements, or printed forms that may lead to confusion with those used by the Official Postal Operator or Mail Dealer.

d) The refusal, obstruction or resistance to be inspected within the administrative visit to clarify facts about the provision of the service.

e) The action to cause fraud in the postage.

f) Liquidate the periodic consideration by taking income less than actually caused.

g) Any form of violation of the freedom and confidentiality of postal items.

h) The provision of postal services without due registration in the register of operators of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies.

i) Having been administratively sanctioned by the commission of more than two serious infractions over a period of (2) years.

(j) Any violation by the authorised operator, to the employment regime in the recruitment of workers for the provision of postal services.

k) The violation of the exchange rate regime duly decreed by the competent authority.

2. Serious infringements. The following are serious infringements of the postal services scheme:

(a) Failure to comply with the Postal Services Operator with the obligation to disclose, on a visible site at all points of care to the public, the conditions of delivery of each postal service.

b) Failure to comply with the Postal Services Operator with the obligation to disclose, on the company's website and/or in written communication, the terms and conditions for the provision of each postal service.

c) The lack of timely payment of periodic consideration for the Information and Communications Technologies Fund.

d) The delay by the Postal Service Operators, in providing the information required by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies, in order to comply with the assigned functions.

e) Do not address the requests, complaints, and claims of the customers or users of the postal services, within 30 calendar days following receipt of the claim.

f) The consolidation of postal items by the operator in order to evade the consideration fixed in this law.

g) Having been administratively sanctioned by the commission of more than two minor infractions over a period of two (2) years.

3. Minor Infringements: It is a minor infringement of the postal services scheme that the Postal Service Operators have failed to comply with the conditions for the provision of postal services disclosed by the latter to their customers or users.

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ARTICLE 38. SANTIONS. Prior to the procedure of the administrative procedure indicated in the Administrative Code, and with the completeness of the constitutional guarantees, the Minister of Information and Communications Technologies or its delegate may impose the following sanctions:

1. For the commission of very serious infractions (a) To be given the conditions of law you may declare the Expiration of the Contract of Concession to the Official Postal Operator or Dealership of Mail.

b) Cancellation of the enabling title for the provision of postal services and their removal from the Register of Postal Operators.

c) Multa ranging from sixty (60) to two hundred (200) monthly minimum legal wages in force. The conduct referred to in literal (h) of article 37is excepted from this sanction, the sanction of which shall be as provided for in Article 40.

2. For the commission of serious infractions.

1. Fine ranging from thirty (30) to sixty (60) monthly minimum statutory wages in force.

3. pariah commission minor violations:

2. Fine that oscillates between one (1) salary and thirty (30) monthly minimum statutory wages in force.

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ARTICLE 39. GRADUATION OF SANCTIONS. The Minister for Information and Communications Technologies in the imposition of sanctions shall take into account the proportionality of the sanction with the seriousness of the act infringing (mild, severe or very serious), the recidivism, the nature of the damage caused and the degree of disturbance of the service. In addition, the Minister for Information and Communications Technologies at the time of the imposition of the sanction will take into account the proportionality of the infringement under the criteria of: mobilised shipments, coverage and coverage.

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ARTICLE 40. ILLEGAL PROVISION AND/OR USE OF POSTAL SERVICES.

He who in any way provides postal services to third parties without being registered in the Register of Postal Operators, will be punished with a fine of five hundred (500) to a thousand (1,000) monthly minimum legal wages in force, closing the facilities of the illegal operator and final confiscation of the items with which the service is being provided, such as guides, envelopes, notices and the network of systems where the information related to the activity of the postal services I provided. In the same way, legal persons who use the postal services provided by third parties who are not registered in the Register of Postal Operators will be sanctioned and will have the right to enable the Ministry of Technology of the Information and Communications.

The above, without prejudice to the judicial actions to be taken.

PARAGRAFO 1o. The Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies, in the exercise of special judicial police functions, may close the facilities in which the activities of the Ministry of Information and Communications are carried out. Postal Services and confiscate the items with which the service is being provided, such as guides, envelopes, notices and the network of systems where the information related to the activity of the postal services is found illegally render at the service points or the premises of the operator where the diligence in compliance with the investigation.

PARAGRAFO 2o. The Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies will have and indicate the destination of the seized goods and postal items.

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ARTICLE 41. SUPPORT FROM THE AUTHORITIES. The Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies when deemed necessary will request the intervention of the Police authorities to make effective the definitive sanctioning measures and (a) provisional application of this Title.

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ARTICLE 42. PROCEDURE FOR IMPOSING SANCTIONS. The Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies shall apply the rules, principles and procedures laid down in the Administrative Code, in order to comply with its function Administrative and in particular, in probative matters, it will apply the rules contained in the Code of Civil Procedure.

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ARTICLE 43. EXPIRATION. The faculty to administratively sanction will expire in the term set forth in article 38 of the Administrative Contentious Code.

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