Postal services are an essential tool for the development of communication and trade, actively contributing to the economic and social cohesion of the country.

The postal sector has been the subject of an important process of change at Community level, the culmination of which has taken place with the publication of Directive 97 /67/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2000. on common rules for the development of the internal market in Community postal services and the improvement of the quality of the service. The incorporation of that Directive into Spanish law was brought about by Law 24/1998 of 13 July of the Universal Postal Service and of the Liberalization of Postal Services, which in addition gave the sector a legal certainty of the which was vitiated by the evident effect that the course of time had had on the norm to which it has come to replace, the Law of December 22, 1953, of Reorganization of the Mail.

Law 24/1998, of July 13, establishes a basic and unitary regulation of the postal sector in Spain, collecting the regime to which the provision of the universal postal service is to be subject and thus guaranteeing the right to to the postal communications of all citizens. At the same time, the Law recognizes the area of the sector that is liberalised, setting the basic rules that allow for free competition, in order to provide legal certainty to those who act in a free competition market that, up to the moment, it lacked substantive regulation.

The Law requires a regulatory development that delimits the scope of the delivery of postal services, the rights and obligations of postal operators, as well as the guarantees granted to the users of the services, Leaving aside the specific regulations which, based on the same, have been carried out on regulatory instruments other than the present.

To the achievement of these objectives is the present Royal Decree, for which the Regulation of the Provision of the Postal Services is approved, in compliance with the mandate contained in the final disposition third of the specified Law 24/1998, July 13.

Likewise, the Postal Services ' Provision Regulation, in line with the liberalizing trend promoted from the European Union through Directive 97 /67/EC and in accordance with the Law, contains a number of innovations. (a) to ensure fair competition between the operators of the postal market, without prejudice to the guarantees established in respect of the universal postal service by the operator entrusted with the provision of the postal service.

With regard to the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service, the possibility for other entities to collaborate with the universal postal service is collected through the appropriate procedures, thereby assuming the performing different operations of your postal process. It is also envisaged that the different payment systems to be paid to this operator by the postal services it provides, among these systems are the classics or franking means. There is also a detailed definition of postal items that form the framework of the universal postal service, in accordance with the principles laid down in the Law.

Therefore, in compliance with the provisions of the third final provision of Law 24/1998, of July 13, the Regulations of Provision of Postal Services, in the development of Law 24/1998, of July 13, are issued.

In its virtue, following the favorable report of the Postal Advisory Council, on the proposal of the Minister of Public Works, with the prior approval of the Minister of Public Administration, according to the State Council and prior deliberation of the Council of Ministers at its meeting on 3 December 1999,

DISPONGO:

Single item. Adoption of the Regulation.

The Postal Services Regulation is approved as an annex to this Royal Decree, for which the Law 24/1998, of July 13, of the Universal Postal Service and of the Liberalization of the Postal Services.

Additional disposition first. Honorary postmen.

Those persons who stand out for their action in favour of the postal service may be appointed as honorary postmen, without the right to pay, by the Counsellor-Director-General of the business public entity Correos y Telegrafos.

This appointment will entail the right to the use of uniform and the identification of your correspondence by stamping a custom cuno. The credential to be granted shall be recorded among those of his/her employment.

Additional provision second. Collaboration with the National Mint and Timbre-Real Casa de la Moneda.

The business public entity Correos y Telegrafos and the National Mint and Timbre-Real Casa de la Moneda will be able to establish, by means of agreements or agreements that are relevant, the manufacturing regime of the postal and other signs of postage to the exclusive effects of ensuring the functioning of the universal postal service.

Additional provision third. Distribution of postage stamps.

The provisions of Article 79 of this Regulation shall be without prejudice to the obligation of the members of the network for the sale of tobacco and the stamp of the marketing of postage stamps in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation. What is established in Law 13/1994, of 4 May, of market planning of tobacco and tax regulations and in its regulations of development.

Single transient arrangement. Distribution of postage stamps.

The transitional regime applicable to the distribution of postage stamps is that provided for in the third transitional provision of Law 24/1998 of 13 July.

Single repeal provision. Repeal effectiveness.

1. The following provisions are repealed:

(a) Decree 1113/1960, of 19 May, for which the Postal Ordinance is approved.

(b) Decree 1653/1964 of 14 May, for which the Rules of Procedure of the Postal Services are adopted.

c) Royal Decree 3155/1979, of 21 December, approving the Regulation of the National Giro.

(d) Royal Decree 772/1980 of 29 February on the provision of services in rural areas.

e) Royal Decree 1810/1986, of 22 August, for which new wording is given to certain articles of the Postal Ordinance and the Regulations of the Postal Services.

2. Also, how many provisions of equal or lower rank are opposed to what is established in this Royal Decree.

Final disposition first. Regulatory enablement.

The Minister of Public Works is authorized to make the necessary provisions for the development and application of this Royal Decree.

Final disposition second. Entry into force.

This Royal Decree will enter into force on the day following its publication in the "Official State Gazette".

Given in Madrid at December 3, 1999.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The Minister of Development,

RAFAEL ARIAS-SALGADO MONTALVO

ANNEX

Regulation governing the provision of postal services, in accordance with the provisions of Law 24/1998 of 13 July of the Universal Postal Service and of the Liberalization of Postal Services

TITLE I

From postal services in general

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 1. Nature of the postal services.

Postal services are services of general interest which are provided under free competition, with the exception of services reserved to the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service. They only have the consideration of public service or are subject to public service obligations, the services regulated in Title III of Law 24/1998, of July 13, of the Universal Postal Service and of the Liberalization of the Services Postcards.

Article 2. Scope and exclusions.

1. In accordance with Article 2 of the Law of the Universal Postal Service and the Liberalization of Postal Services, the following postal services shall be governed by the provisions of this Regulation:

(a) The collection, admission, classification, processing, course, transport, distribution and delivery of postal items, with the guarantees and modalities established in this Regulation.

It is postal items that include objects whose physical and technical specifications allow, at least, their traffic through the public postal network, according to the classification that is made in Article 13 of this Regulation.

(b) The financial instruments, consisting of the different forms of rotation by which payments are ordered to natural or legal persons on behalf of others, through the public postal network.

(c) Other services which, having similar nature to the former, are expressly determined as postal services by the Government, in the execution of international agreements that oblige Spain.

2. Services carried out under self-provision are excluded from the scope of this Regulation.

Self-provision shall be understood to exist where the same natural or legal person is found at the origin and destination of the correspondence consignments, and the same person performs the service by itself or by using a subject acting, exclusively for her, using means other than those of the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service.

For the purposes of the preceding paragraph, the same natural or legal person shall be deemed to be the same natural or legal person at the origin and destination of the consignments, when the submitters and the recipients are labored or act in the name and on behalf of the natural or legal person who performs self-provision.

Also, in order for the origin and destination to be considered to be the same natural or legal person, it will be necessary for the transportation and distribution of the shipments to be carried out exclusively between the different centers, subsidiaries or venues where the natural or legal person performing the self-provision is available and the distribution is only carried out within the physical space of those places.

It shall not be considered a system of self-provision, the performance of postal services to third parties, carried out by natural or legal persons, as a consequence of the development of their business or business activity.

Where self-provision is carried out through the valijas system or by similar procedures, it may not include consignments belonging to the reserved area to the operator entrusted with the provision of the postal service. universal.

Under no circumstances will the services reserved to the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service be disturbed by this scheme.

Article 3. Definition of sender and address for postal purposes.

1. The sender is understood to be the natural or legal person from whom the postal consignment comes.

For the purpose of determining the origin of a postal shipment it is considered that it is located in the postal address that appears as it refers, either to the shipment itself, or to its wrapping.

If the address of the sender is not stated, the place of residence of the sender, in the case of natural persons and their registered office, in the case of legal persons, shall be understood as the origin of the consignment.

2. Address, for postal purposes, the identification of the addressees by their first and last names, if they are natural persons or by their name or social reason in the case of legal persons, as well as the address of a registered office or data as provided for in this Regulation for the delivery of consignments to the offices of the public postal network.

CHAPTER II

Warranties of postal services users and limits of postal services

Section 1. User Guarantees

Article 4. Concept of user of postal services.

You will have the consideration of the postal services user, the natural or legal person who benefits from his or her benefit as a sender or as a recipient, whatever the nature, public or private, of the operator who In any event, it should be recognized as such by Law 26/1984 of 19 July, General for the Defense of Consumers and Users.

Article 5. Fundamental guarantees for users of postal services.

1. Postal operators shall ensure full respect for the secrecy and inviolability of postal communications, the obligation to protect data and the fulfilment of the requirements laid down by the sectoral rules on security of the postal sector. operation of the network in the field of transport of dangerous substances, environmental protection and spatial planning.

2. Postal operators shall, in the exercise of the activities of the provision of services, ensure:

(a) The secrecy and inviolability of postal communications, except judicial resolution, in the terms set out in Articles 6 and 7 of this Regulation.

(b) Respect for the honour, personal and family privacy of users and the full exercise of their rights, in particular when the postal operator applies electronic, computer and electronic means and techniques for development of their activities and the exercise of their powers.

c) The neutrality and confidentiality of postal services.

(d) Equal treatment of postal services users who are in similar conditions.

e) The absence of any kind of discrimination, especially those derived from political, religious or ideological considerations.

Article 6. Secret of postal shipments and data protection.

1. The secrecy of postal items affects the content of the postal items and implies the absolute prohibition for postal operators and their employees to provide any information regarding the existence of the postal service, to their class, to their circumstances. outside, the identity of the sender and the addressee or their addresses, unless they are requested by them, their legal or proxy representatives or by means of a judicial decision.

In no case can containers, of any nature, which serve for the transport of postal items, be covered by the secrecy of communications.

2. Without prejudice to the protection of personal data, postal operators may use for statistical purposes those resulting from the provision of postal services while safeguarding the confidentiality of postal services. communications.

3. The processing of personal data contained in any document with physical or electronic support, derived from the provision of the postal services by its operators, will be subject to the provisions contained in the Organic Law. 5/1992, of October 29, of Regulation of Automated Treatment of Personal Data and in its standards of development.

The obligation to protect data shall include the duty of confidentiality of personal data, the confidentiality of information transmitted or stored and the protection of privacy.

Article 7. Inviolability of postal items.

Postal shipments are inviolable. In any case, it shall be a violation, arbitrary detention or right, intentional abnormal course, opening, removal, destruction, undue restraint or concealment and, in general, any act of infidelity in their custody.

Article 8. Ownership of postal items.

The postal items, as long as they do not reach the addressee, will be the property of the sender, who may, by means of payment of the corresponding prices or prices, recover them or modify their address, provided that the Operations necessary to locate them do not disturb the regular service of the postal service.

Article 9. Right to retrieve shipments and modify postal address by sender.

1. Requests for recovery of the consignments or changes in the postal address shall be made in writing, describing, as far as possible, the external characteristics of the cover of the consignment. In case of consignments admitted by way of protection, this must also be submitted by the sender, in the form of the request.

2. Where the delivery of the postal items cannot be made to the recipient or authorized person, if it has been refused, not withdrawn within the time limit set by the postal operator or is impossible and has been admitted by means of a safeguard supporting the identification of the postal address of the sender, the operator may choose to return the consignment to the sender or to inform him, by any means recognised in law, of the optional circumstances, provided for both cases, of a maximum of five days from the date on which those circumstances occur.

In the event that the postal operator chooses to communicate the impossibility of delivery of the consignment in the terms set out in the preceding paragraph, the sender shall have a minimum period of 15 days to manifest expressly if you opt for your recovery or for the modification of the postal address. After the maximum period laid down by each operator, without the sender having exercised his right, the consignment shall be deemed to be surplus and shall be subject to the provisions of Article 25 of this Regulation relating to the rules on the deposit. of the shipments.

This provision shall not apply to the consignments referred to in Article 16 (5

.

3. The modification of postal address or return of postal items that are made by mistake attributable to postal operators, will be free.

Article 10. User rights.

Postal operators, in the exercise of the activities of the provision of services, shall ensure the following rights of the user:

a) Protection from risks that may affect your health and safety.

(b) The provision and disclosure of all information relating to postal services, in particular the general conditions of their provision, the form of access, the fees and the system of complaints to the object to facilitate knowledge about their proper use.

(c) Compensation for non-compliance in the provision of services under the conditions set out in Section 1 of Chapter IV of this Title.

(d) The use of the official languages in the territory of the Autonomous Community, in the case of postal services that circulate exclusively in their field.

e) The postal communication service within the national, community and international territory as a whole, in accordance with the commitments made by the operator.

f) The quality and availability of the services offered and the shipments included within the scope of the universal postal service.

g) The identification in the shipment, postal operator, or postal operators who are going to perform the postal service requested by the user.

Article 11. Rights of the recipient of postal items.

The consignee may request the forwarding of the postal items, when he is absent from the destination location, by paying the corresponding economic consideration. They may also reject them before opening or examining them internally, as determined in this Regulation.

In the case of shipments with declared value, the recipient may examine them externally before signing their receipt.

Section 2. Limitations to User Guarantees

Article 12. Intervention of postal items.

1. Except for the rights recognized as referred to in Article 9, postal items may be detained or intercepted only by a reasoned decision of the judicial authority, in accordance with the provisions of Article 579 of the Law of Procedure. Criminal.

2. The officials of the General Secretariat of Communications of the Ministry of Public Works and customs officers may intervene in postal items to fulfil their specific tasks.

The scope of this intervention shall in no case affect the secrecy and inviolability thereof, limiting itself to the external recognition of both the shipments and the accompanying documentation.

3. Neither the officials of the General Secretariat of Communications of the Ministry of Development nor those of the customs services will be able to know the contents of the postal items, and must respect the right to secrecy, privacy and the inviolability of the correspondence. Consignments which do not contain documents of a current and personal nature such as direct advertising, books, catalogues, periodicals, and postal packages where their inspection is to be carried out on the basis of public security or public order, and it is not expressly stated that they contain objects of a personal nature.

For these purposes, such consignments must be conditioned in such a way as to allow their opening and closing to facilitate the inspection of their contents.

The content of postal items shall not be examined when the nature of their content is accurately deducted from their form or simple external examination.

4. In the case of consignments of letters containing current and personal communications and postal packages, provided that, in the latter, it is expressly stated that they contain objects of a personal nature, it will be necessary to obtain the express authorisation of the sender or, failing that, the consignee so that the officials of the General Secretariat of Communications of the Ministry of Public Works or of the customs services are aware of the text or content thereof. If there is no such express authorization, the appropriate court order will be necessary, while the shipment intercepted in the hands of the General Secretariat of Communications or the customs office, respectively, during the period of one month to be counted from the date on which that order is requested.

The postal packages referred to in this paragraph shall be conditioned in such a way as to facilitate the verification of their content, without the need for the removal of the object, to the postal inspection services.

5. In order to perform the functions that the General Secretariat of Communications of the Ministry of Development confers on this article, the services of the Postal Inspection of that dependent shall be competent.

6. Postal operators shall submit to the audit of the Customs Services the prohibited consignments of import and export, as well as those subject to the payment of duties and the observance of entry or exit formalities.

Where by any postal operator involved in the handling or course of the consignment, the presence of any other person from abroad or points located in free ports under a different customs procedure is observed of the Peninsula and which, according to the provisions in force, must be the subject of recognition prior to its delivery to the consignee, shall be entered by the customs administration on the cover of that, in a way which is clearly visible, the indication of: ' Intervened. To be recognized by the Customs Service ".

CHAPTER III

Postal Shipments and Services

Section 1. Classification of postal shipments and services

Article 13. Postal items.

1. For the purposes of this Regulation, postal shipping shall mean the consignment with consignee, prepared in the final form in which it is to be transported by the universal postal service operator.

In any case, they are postal items, letters, postcards, postal packages, direct advertising, books, catalogues, and periodicals.

2. In the field of application of this Regulation,

following definitions shall apply:

A) Letter: any closed consignment whose contents are not indicated and cannot be known, as well as any communication materialized in written form on physical support of any nature, having current and personal character and all that which, while not meeting the above requirements, complies with the other requirements laid down in this Regulation for admission in accordance with this modality.

In any case, you will have the consideration of a letter for receipts, invoices, business documents, financial statements, and any other messages that are not identical.

B) Postal card: any rectangular piece of a consistent card or similar material, whether or not the postal card title, which is discovered and contains a message of a current and personal character, may or may not be present.

The indication of the "postcard" term in individual shipments automatically implies this postal classification, even if the corresponding object does not have current and personal text.

C) Postal packages: shipments containing any object, product or matter, with or without commercial value, the circulation of which by the postal network is not prohibited and all shipping which, containing direct advertising, books, catalogues, (a) periodic publications, comply with the other requirements laid down in this Regulation for admission under this modality. Where such consignments contain objects of a current and personal nature, that circumstance shall be expressly stated on their cover.

No postal packages may be constituted by letters or pools of letters or any other current and personal correspondence class.

D) Direct advertising: the consignment which, for the promotion and sale of goods and services, also meets the following requirements:

a) That it consists of any communication that consists solely of advertisements, market studies, or advertising.

b) That contains a similar message, even if the name, address, and any specific identification numbers that are assigned to their recipients, are different in each case.

c) Which is referred to more than five hundred recipients.

d) To be directed to the signs indicated by the sender in the object itself or in its envelope.

e) That their distribution be performed on the open, to facilitate the postal inspection.

f) That the expression "P." is in its cover. D. " for the purpose of facilitating the identification of such consignments.

Communications which combine direct advertising with another object in the same envelope, will have the postal consideration which, by its nature, may correspond to that object, irrespective of the treatment they receive from the charging effects.

E) Books: publications, whatever their support, binding or in the form of letters, sent by publishing companies, distributors, sales establishments and authorized correspondence centres, provided that do not contain other advertising than the one that is eventually on the deck.

The phonographic and video material will have the same treatment as the books.

F) Catalogs: the shipment that, for the promotion and sale of goods and services, also meets the following requirements:

a) That consists of any communication that contains addresses, points of sale, or product offering.

b) Containing a similar message, even if the name, address, and identification number that is assigned to its recipients are different in each case.

c) Which is referred to more than five hundred recipients.

d) To be directed to the signs indicated by the sender in the object itself or in its envelope.

e) That their distribution be performed on the open, to facilitate the postal inspection.

f) That the legend "catalogues" appear on its cover, in order to facilitate the identification of these shipments.

The communications which combine the catalogue with another object in the same envelope, shall have the postal consideration which, by its nature, may correspond to that object irrespective of the treatment they receive for the purposes of pricing.

G) Regular publications: the objects that are published periodically, with the same title repeated in each copy and whose text or content is of a different nature or nature, distinguished by the variety of statements, works, information or news.

Article 14. Postal services.

1. In accordance with the guarantees granted to the consignment, the postal services are classified in: general shipping services, certified shipping services, and declared value shipping services.

(a) General shipping services are those for which the postal operator concerned does not provide more guarantees to the consignment than those offered on a general basis which, in any event, must be at least those referred to in this Article. Regulation for all postal items. Such shipments are entrusted to the operator, without the individual proof receipt of each such consignment that allows to identify the postal address of the sender and of the consignee or, if appropriate, a comprehensive document of several shipments numbered in which the data is quoted.

(b) It is a certified shipping service which, after payment of a predetermined lump sum, establishes a fixed guarantee against the risks of loss, theft or deterioration, and which make it easier for the sender, if appropriate request of this, proof of the deposit of the postal shipment or of its delivery to the recipient.

(c) These are the services of declared value shipments that enable them to be secured by the value declared by the sender, in the event of loss, theft or deterioration.

2. For the basic or complementary benefits that they entail, the services may be:

(a) Ordinaries, when consignments are entrusted to the postal operator concerned for the performance of a postal service under regular conditions and qualities pre-established by the postal operator.

(b) Rapids, when the service, in addition to its greater speed and safety in the collection, distribution and delivery of the shipments, is characterized by all or some of the following additional benefits: delivery guarantee in a date determined; collection at the point of origin; delivery to the consignee; immediate possibility of changing the destination or consignee; confirmation to the sender of the receipt of the consignment; monitoring, monitoring and location of the goods; shipments; personalized treatment to customers and delivery of a service on demand, as and when request by the user.

Services for the collection, admission, classification, delivery, treatment, course, transport and distribution of intercity and cross-border shipments, certificates or not, of letters and postcards, provided that their weight is not less than 350 grams and shall not be considered to be within this category where the price actually charged by them is not, at least, five times greater than the amount of the corresponding public tariff for ordinary consignments of objects from the first weight scale of the fastest normalized category.

(c) Special, in the case of services providing for benefits of a specific nature, other than those referred to in subparagraph (b) of this paragraph, such as reimbursement services where delivery to the the recipient is made upon payment of the repayable amount, or the subject to supplementary rights for the benefit of special facilities offered by the postal operator to be used discretionally by the users.

3. In any of the cases provided for in the preceding paragraphs, the postal service operations as a whole are as follows:

(a) Collection: is the operation consisting of the removal of postal items deposited in the access points to the postal network of the operator. Access points are the physical facilities, especially the mailboxes available to the public either on the public or in public premises or on the premises of the service provider, where customers can deposit postal items for access to the network.

b) Admission: consists of the receipt by the postal operator of the shipment that is entrusted to him by the sender for the realization of the integral postal process and of the one that is responsible in the terms previewed in this Regulation.

(c) Classification: includes the set of operations whose purpose is the sorting of postal items, on the basis of postal operational criteria.

d) Treatment: is the set of ancillary operations performed with postal items admitted by the operator intended to prepare them for subsequent postal operations.

e) Course: is the operation or operations that allow the routing of postal items.

f) Transport: it is the transfer by any type of means of the postal items to its final distribution point.

g) Distribution: it is any operation performed at the destination premises of the postal operator where the postal shipment has been transported immediately prior to its final delivery to the recipient of the post.

h) Delivery: it is the delivery of the consignments in the postal address on them, with the provisos set out in this Regulation.

For the purposes of the necessary granting of the corresponding enabling securities, each of these operations is liable to constitute, by itself, a postal service.

Section 2. Prohibited Objects as Postal Shipments

Article 15. Concept.

Prohibited objects such as postal items, those whose circulation is not permitted for reasons of safety, public health, general utility and universal postal service protection shall be considered.

Article 16. Enumeration.

In accordance with the principles set out in the previous article, the following objects cannot be included in any postal items:

1. Products subject to a reserve regime and not provided with special authorisation to circulate on the postal network.

2. Opium and its derivatives, cocaine and other narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, except where they are sent for medicinal purposes and accompanied by official authorisation.

3. Shipments whose envelope or cover contains texts or drawings that violate any of the fundamental rights of the person.

4. The arms shipments, as set out in Royal Decree 137/1993 of 29 January, approving the Arms Regulations.

5. Explosive, flammable and other dangerous substances, other than perishable biologics, exchanged between officially recognised laboratories, and radioactive materials deposited by duly authorised consignors.

For these purposes, radioactive materials or substances shall be considered to exceed the limits laid down in the legislation on nuclear energy and on the transport of dangerous goods, and it shall be necessary for them to be transferred and packaging, compliance with the provisions of Law 25/1964, of Nuclear Energy, of Royal Decree 53/1992 of 24 January, of health protection against ionising radiation, of the rules governing the transport of dangerous goods and of the other specific rules that can be explained.

6) Live animals, without being provided with a special authorisation or exchanged between officially recognised institutions.

7) Objects whose traffic is a crime constitutive.

8. Objects whose nature or packaging may constitute a danger to the employees of postal operators handling them or causing deterioration in other consignments.

9. Objects whose admission or movement is prohibited in the country to which they are intended.

10. Objects whose circulation is prohibited in Spain, in accordance with the rules in force.

11. Those determined by international conventions in which Spain is a signatory.

Article 17. Articles subject to reserve and narcotic drugs.

The authorization referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the previous Article so that they may be admitted to the circulation by the postal network, the products subject to the reserve regime and the narcotic drugs, shall be subject to the authorization of the by the entity holding the exclusive right of distribution in the first case, by an official health authority in the second case, where necessary in the case of paragraphs (5) and (6), the authorisation of the competent authorities, and shall be submitted, by duplicate, in the post office of the postal operator. One of the copies of the authorization shall be filed in that office, the second being accompanied by the consignment for the file at the destination.

Article 18. Checking the contents of the shipments.

1. Where it is reasonably suspected that a consignment presented at the post office of the postal operator contains any object whose circulation by the postal network is prohibited or which does not conform to the content stated in the envelope or cover, where this be required, the sender shall be invited to open it, and if he does not do so, his admission shall be refused. The following procedure shall be followed, as soon as possible, with the objects deposited in the mailboxes.

2. Where postal operators are suspected of having no more than one of the consignments already admitted to the postal network or is subject to requirements which have not been complied with, they shall proceed as indicated in the preceding paragraph, if there is no left of origin, referring, in another case, with the separation of the others, to the office of destination. From this office, the addressee shall be notified of such circumstances, in order to proceed as indicated in the preceding paragraph and, if it is refused to open it, shall not be delivered and the fact shall be transferred to the General Secretariat of Communications of the Ministry of Development to resolve the treatment to be given to the shipment.

Article 19. Procedure to be followed with respect to prohibited objects.

1. When postal operators warn of the presence of prohibited objects, they shall, as the case may be, proceed as follows:

(a) If any of the objects listed in Article 16 (1), (2) and (10) are concerned, the procedure laid down in the relevant rules shall be followed.

(b) The consignments referred to in Article 16 (6) where they contain harmful animals shall be notified to the appropriate authority.

(c) The objects referred to in Article 16 (4) shall be delivered to the Civil Guard.

(d) Where objects listed in Article 16 (5) are detected, the competent authority or its agents shall be notified to the competent authority, who shall determine, in each case, the procedure to be followed in accordance with the rules in effect.

(e) The prohibited objects, in particular those listed in Article 16 (2), (3), (4), (5) and (7), the movement of which constitutes criminal matters, shall be sent to the competent judicial authority or to its agents.

2. The prohibited movement objects for which a specific treatment is not established in the previous paragraph shall be returned to the office of origin, which shall then give the sender notice to withdraw them within the time limits. Non-withdrawn shipments will be considered as leftovers, the same as the unknown sender.

3. The postal operator who has carried out prohibited movement objects in any of the forms referred to in the preceding paragraphs shall, where appropriate, inform the sender and the competent authority.

CHAPTER IV

Liability of operators for the provision of postal services

Section 1. Complaint And Resolution Of Disputes Between Operators and Users

Article 20. Conflict resolution procedures.

1. Users may direct their claim to the Consumer Arbitration Boards, in accordance with the terms laid down in the regulatory regulations, within one month of the operator's response or from the end of the deadline for respond.

2. If you do not opt for the procedure provided for in the previous paragraph, the users of the postal services may make complaints about the operation, the liability for damages or any other matter which may arise in the relationship to the provision of the service. To this end, they must be directed to any of the commercial offices of the relevant operator within four months of the date of admission of the consignment. For rapid services, this period shall be at least 20 days, which may be extended by the free will of the parties. If the sender has not received a satisfactory reply from the operator within one month, the complaint may be made in accordance with the procedures set out in the following paragraphs.

For the above purposes, postal operators must enable a system to verify the identity of the operator, as well as the date on which it takes over the shipment.

3. In the case of services falling within the scope of the universal postal service, provided that the complaint has not been submitted to the Arbitaltas Boards, the user may, within one month of the operator's reply or from the end of the deadline to reply, to the General Secretariat of Communications which, once the necessary formalities have been completed, will dictate a resolution on the question raised. The material requirements of this resolution and its eventual challenge shall be governed by the provisions of Law 30/1992 of 26 November of the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and the Common Administrative Procedure, in the wording given to is under Law 4/1999, of 13 January, amending that Law.

The resolution shall exhaust the administrative path and may be brought against the administrative-administrative appeal.

Article 21. Liability of postal operators for the provision of postal services.

1. As a general rule, postal operators shall respond to the user for non-compliance with the conditions for the provision of postal services, in the cases and conditions provided for in this Regulation. This responsibility shall be specified in the appropriate compensation.

2. Without prejudice to the provisions of the above paragraph, postal operators shall respond to their users in the event of non-compliance with the conditions of provision by them.

The corresponding compensation, in the event of non-compliance, shall be equivalent, at least, to the amount paid by the user in respect of the postal service requested, the sender being resented or, failing or at the request of the sender, the recipient.

Article 22. Liability of postal operators for the loss, destruction or deterioration of postal items.

1. Postal operators are required to compensate, except for force majeure or for reasons attributable to customs services, for the loss, destruction or deterioration of the certified postal items entrusted to them for circulation.

The sender of the consignment shall be entitled to the compensation or, failing or at the request of the consignment, the consignee.

2. Except as a result of force majeure, in the event of loss of a consignment with declared value, paid as such, postal operators are obliged to pay the sender or, at the latter's request, the recipient of an equivalent allowance, at least, to the declared, without prejudice to other compensation.

In the event of total or partial destruction of the content, the compensation shall at least be equal to the amount declared in the first case and the value of the content missing in the second case, without any, in any event, being exceeded. the amount set for the total disappearance.

Reimbursed the amount of the declared securities not given to the recipients, the postal operators shall be subrogated in all the rights of the owner, who shall be obliged to give them an account of the nature of the securities, so as of the circumstances which may facilitate the exercise of their rights.

Section 2. Resolution of disputes between postal operators

Article 23. Dispute resolution.

It shall be for the General Secretariat of Communications to resolve the disputes referred to in Article 5.3 of Law 24/1998, which arise between the operator entrusted with the provision of the postal service. universal and other postal operators who carry out services within the scope of that service.

CHAPTER V

Postal shipment and destruction procedures

Article 24. Failure to deliver postal items.

1. Where the delivery to the home or office of the postal items cannot be made to the recipient or authorised person, for having been refused or for not having been withdrawn, within the time limits laid down by the postal operator and any type or mode of consignment admitted by means of proof to identify the postal address of the sender shall be carried out in accordance with Article 9 of this Regulation.

2. Where the delivery of the ordinary consignments in house, home, office or other similar means of delivery cannot be carried out, inter alia, due to the fact that the consignee is unknown, he has died without leaving any heirs or have been absent without any signs, without further delay, the sender shall be returned to the sender, provided that this information is recorded in the consignments.

In this respect, if the delivery cannot be performed either the sender will be considered the shipments as leftovers.

3. For the purposes of this Regulation, the postal services users must, clearly and without amendment or scraping, enter the full postal address, both for the sender and the consignee, in all consignments, with the obligation to do so in those who have the guarantees of certificate or declared value, except in the case of consignments addressed to literary or artistic competitions, in which the pseudonym of the sender may be entered, provided that the actual data is recorded in the office of admission of such consignments.

4. Postal operators shall record on the reverse side of consignments, of any kind or modality, the cause of the impossibility of delivery, the responsible employee having to subscribe to that circumstance.

5. When a postal operator returns to the sender a shipment of any kind and modality, without the cause being certain to justify the lack of delivery to the recipient and this circumstance is proven, it will compensate the sender with a compensation equivalent to at least the amount paid by the requested postal service, without prejudice to the responsibilities arising.

Article 25. Deposit and destruction of postal items.

1. Postal operators shall keep in storage those consignments which, for the reasons provided for in the previous Article, have been considered as surplus.

As a general rule, postal items declared as surplus shall remain in storage for a maximum period of six months, from that declaration, and may be sent by the sender, the consignee or those subrogating to them. rights to recover such consignments, subject to verification of their identity and the payment of the storage rights that correspond, where appropriate.

Past this deadline, they will be considered expired.

2. The destruction of those shipments with no declared value that have been deemed to have expired shall be carried out, ensuring, in any case, the secrecy of the communications, in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation and under the supervision of the Secretary General of Communications of the Ministry of Public Works.

3. Postal items with declared value that cannot be returned shall be kept for three years at the disposal of persons deemed to be entitled to them and, after this period, they shall be disposed of.

Your product will be used to cover the expenses arising from the deposit of such shipments, with the rest being submitted to the provisions of the Civil Code and the State Heritage Law for the abandoned furniture.

In any case, the communications secret will be guaranteed.

TITLE II

Public Service Obligations

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 26. Public service.

1. Postal service providers for which special administrative authorisation is required, in accordance with the provisions of Law 24/1998 of 13 July 1998 and the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service be subject to compliance with the public service obligations laid down in that Law 24/1998.

2. For these purposes, the following categories of public service obligations exist:

a) Obligations to provide universal postal service.

b) Other public service obligations imposed for reasons of general interest, in the terms of the provisions of the aforementioned Law 24/1998.

3. The Ministry of Public Works, through the General Secretariat of Communications, is responsible for monitoring compliance with public service obligations.

CHAPTER II

Public service obligations of the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service

Section 1. Universal Postal Service Delivery

Article 27. Universal postal service.

1. Universal postal service means the set of postal services provided on a permanent basis, in accordance with the parameters set out in the Law and in this Regulation, throughout the national territory and at an affordable price for all users.

2. For the purposes of this article, the following services are included in the scope of the universal postal service:

A) The spin service.

B) The ordinary provision of national and cross-border postal services for postal items incorporating an address indicated by the sender on the object itself or on its packaging, which may be:

(a) Cards and postcards containing written communications in any type of support, up to 2 kilograms in weight.

b) Postal packages, with or without commercial value, of up to 10 kilograms of weight.

(c) Domestic and cross-border shipments of direct advertising, books, catalogues, periodicals and other publications whose circulation is not prohibited, when the consignment is made as a letter or as a postal package. up to 2 and 10 kilograms, respectively.

3. Each service integrated into the universal postal service shall include the following:

(a) The collection, admission, classification, treatment, course, transport, distribution and delivery of letters and postcards of up to 2 kilograms of weight.

(b) The collection, admission, classification, processing, course, transport, distribution and delivery of postal packages the weight of which does not exceed 10 kilograms.

c) The declared shipping and value shipping services, accessories to those set out in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section.

For the above purposes, the minimum quantity for which a shipment with declared value may be secured shall be 1,000 pesetas, the maximum of 500,000 pesetas, not being able to declare a value exceeding the actual value of the content of the shipment.

Also, the maximum amount of compensation in the event of loss, subtraction or deterioration of the certified shipments will be 5,000 pesetas.

Article 28. General conditions.

1. The operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service is obliged, in respect of the services included in it, to carry out, every working day and at least five days a week, except for circumstances or conditions. exceptional geographical areas, to be assessed by the General Secretariat of Communications, upon reasoned request by the service provider:

a) A collection at the access points, such as mailboxes available to the public installed on the public, local or other facilities.

(b) A distribution and delivery to the address of each natural or legal person, with the exceptions set out in Article 37 of this Regulation.

The operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service may no longer provide the services included in that scope to any public or private entity that is not in the payment of the universal postal service. (a) economic performance resulting from the same, unless the postal items are submitted for admission through stamps, stamps issued by automatic distributors installed in their offices or impressions of machines of to cross the limit to the pre-paid load, provided that such a circumstance has been duly informed to the data subject 15 days in advance.

2. The operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service shall provide sufficiently precise and up-to-date information on the services covered by the universal service and, in particular, on the conditions of access, prices, quality level, as well as the guarantees required and the procedure for complaints, and the General Secretariat of Communications must be informed of the manner in which such information will be made public.

This reporting obligation will reach the standards that, affecting postal services and developed by the European Committee for Standardisation, have been published annually in the Official Journal of the European Communities, provided that this is necessary for the interests of users and, in particular, when they affect the conditions of access to services, prices or the level of quality.

By Order of the Ministry of Public Works the minimum content of the right to information will be established.

3. The operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service is obliged to establish, for the users of postal services, internal complaints procedures which are transparent, simple, free of charge, which are disputes in a fair manner, within a maximum of one month, in particular for cases of loss, deterioration or subtraction of postal items and non-compliance with quality standards, and should be communicated to the General Secretariat of Communications, which may make as many amendments as it deems appropriate to ensure those procedures.

4. The operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service is obliged, in particular, to:

(a) Provide postal service users who are in comparable conditions with the same treatment and identical benefits.

b) To provide the service, without any discrimination, between users who are in similar conditions.

c) Do not interrupt or suspend the service, except in cases of force majeure.

d) Adapting to technical, economic and social requirements.

e) Meet the obligations arising from the approval by the Government of the Universal Postal Service Delivery Plan.

Article 29. Admission. General rules.

1. The operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service shall be obliged, in respect of the services in this field, to accept any postal consignment, the deposit of which is made in the form specified in the articles and whenever the corresponding rate or price is satisfied.

2. In those stocks or cores of dwellings not attended by an office of the operator entrusted with the provision of the uni versal postal service, the admission of such postal items may be made by the staff responsible for the allocation. At the same time, it will inform the neighbours of these centres of the usual time of passage of the said staff.

3. The maximum and minimum dimensions of the postal services eligible for the public postal network, which are within the scope of the universal postal service, shall be those laid down in the rules transposing into Spanish law those approved by the Union. Universal Postal.

Article 30. Repository in mailboxes.

Post-mailboxes may be deposited in mailboxes that do not need to be issued with proof of their admission, provided that their dimensions permit and have been previously franked.

The mailboxes will provide, in a visible place, the information referred to the weekly calendar and collection schedules.

Article 31. Admission of applications, writings and communications which citizens or entities direct to the bodies of public administrations.

Applications, writings and communications which citizens or entities direct to the bodies of public administrations, through the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service, shall be they shall be open, in order to make it clear, in the heading of the first sheet of the document to be sent, the name of the office and the date, place, time and minute of its admission. Such circumstances shall be included in the proof of their admission. The sender may also require that the circumstances of the consignment be recorded, after comparison of its identity with the original, on the first page of the copy, photocopy or other type of reproduction of the main document to be sent, which must be provided as a form of receipt attesting to the presentation of the person to the competent administrative body.

Practiced the indicated steps, the sender himself will close the envelope, and the employee will formalize and deliver the admission stub, whose matrix will archive in the office.

Shipments accepted by the operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service is entrusted, following the formalities provided for in this Article, shall be deemed to be duly submitted for the purposes laid down in this Article. Article 38 of Law 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 on the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and the Common Administrative Procedure, and on its implementing legislation.

Article 32. Delivery of postal items. General rules.

1. Postal consignments must be delivered to the consignee who appears in the address of the consignment or to the person authorised at the address of the consignment, in the home-in-house, in the post office, in the office, as well as in any other place which is determine in this Regulation or by Order of the Ministry of Public Works.

They shall be deemed to be authorised by the consignee to receive postal items, if not expressly prohibited, older persons present at home who are family members of their own or maintain a relationship of dependency or cohabitation.

The recipient or authorized person who takes charge of the postal shipment will have to identify his or her personality, to the employee of the postal operator who carries out the delivery, through the display of his national document of identity, passport, driving licence or residence card, with the exception of known knowledge.

The recipient or authorized person may refuse the postal shipment at the time of delivery in the following cases:

a) Before you open it if it is a letter or a packet.

b) Before reading or examining it internally if it is another type of shipment. Shipments against reimbursement are excepted, when the sender expressly authorizes them in the cover of the same.

If the recipient of a certified object is unable or unable to sign, a duly identified witness will do so.

In no case, may your signature as a witness be stamped by the employee of the postal operator who performs the delivery.

The shipment shall be deemed to be delivered when it is done in the manner determined in this Regulation.

2. Delivery shall be made at the address of the consignee, in the terms set out in this Regulation.

For the purposes of this Regulation, a set of geographical data shall be understood as the address for identifying the place of delivery of the consignments. It is composed of the following elements:

a) Type and name of the public road: name identifying the street, plaza, avenue, road or road or others.

b) Number of the farm: the one that has been assigned by the Town Hall of the locality within the existing ones on the public road.

c) Housing or local data: those that identify the property in a singularized way in the existing registration in the Land Registry.

d) Number of postbox postboxes following the letters "CD".

e) Locality: name of the population.

f) Postal code: the one assigned to each postal address.

The constituent elements of the postal address may be replaced by other data when the delivery takes place in the offices of the public postal network or when the natural or legal persons have another form of delivery with the operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service has been entrusted.

3. As an alternative to home delivery, correspondence addressed to users who wish to receive it by this system may be removed when they expressly request it.

4. Correspondence addressed to such a unit or that which, by absence or other justified cause, could not have been delivered at the address, shall be delivered to the office. The time limits for staying in that office shall be determined by the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service.

Article 33. Delivery of postal items at home.

All postal items included in the scope of the universal service must be delivered at the address of the postal address.

In the case of shipments certified or of declared value, they may be delivered only, against receipt, to the respective recipients or to the authorized person, on the understanding that the persons indicated in the article are authorized 32.1 of this Regulation.

Article 34. Delivery of postal items by deposit in house lockers.

1. The delivery of postal items of ordinary character may be carried out in the house lockers installed for the purpose when their dimensions permit.

The lockers must have the necessary characteristics to guarantee the property, secrecy and inviolability of the postal items and must conform to the standard characteristics that the postal authorities establish at any time. technical standards applicable to the postal sector, in accordance with the provisions of Directive 97 /67/EC.

2. In those buildings subject to the horizontal property regime, delivery may be made in the home lockers provided that their number is equal to the number of premises and dwellings that can be used independently, with a more signposted with number 1 and reserved for postal shipment returns.

The house lockers must be numbered, starting at number 2, and must be at the right to the right and from the top to the bottom, sorted by floors and doors. This data must be indicated in the locker, and the names of the residents in the housing or the social name can also be included if the local or housing owner is a legal person.

The block or blocks of house lockers shall be installed in an easily accessible place which is well lit and which has sufficient guarantees of protection against illicit manipulations, and must be fitted or fixed to the wall. in such a way that they cannot be moved and are placed at a height to allow their comfortable use.

If the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service, or any other of the postal operators, has knowledge of the existence of buildings which do not have a home-house, communicate this circumstance to the relevant neighbourhood community, so that they take appropriate measures for their installation, warning them that, in the meantime, the delivery of the consignments addressed to their neighbours will be carried out in the postal office which corresponds.

3. For buildings which are single-family homes or independent commercial or industrial premises, the delivery may be made in a house located near or on the first entry door, so as to allow the deposit of consignments from the public vial, and in which the name of the street and the number, or other identifying data of the postal address as the name of the urbanisation or polygon and the number of plots, may be included. the names and names of the residents in the dwelling or the registered name, if they are a legal person the holder of the premises or the dwelling.

Article 35. Delivery of postal items in paragraphs.

The operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service may set out paragraphs for the delivery of postal items to natural, legal, public or private persons.

The rest of the postal operators may also set up postal items on their premises for postal items not belonging to the reserve area of the operator entrusted with the provision of the service. universal postal.

The shipping section will be done in lockers and, for justified reasons of the volume, the density of the postal items or the nature of the postal items, inside the offices.

The postal items in the offices shall be delivered to the holder of the expressly authorized person or paragraph.

Article 36. Delivery of postal items in office.

Senders will be able to direct postal items to a particular post office, which will be delivered to the recipient upon identification of their personality.

In addition, any consignment which, by absence or other justified cause, has not been able to be delivered to the consignee or the person authorised at his address, shall be delivered to the office, communicating its existence by means of a notice of arrival placed in the house, without prejudice to the provisions of Section 2. of this Chapter.

Article 37. Delivery in pluridomiciliary concentrated lockers or other similar in nature.

In the case of farms or isolated houses, the area of great development of construction and minimum population density, as well as when exceptional geographical circumstances are present, the General Secretariat of Communications may establish specific conditions to facilitate the delivery of the ordinary consignments in those areas.

As long as these conditions are not established, the provider of the universal postal service will be able to deliver the consignments addressed to the affected recipients in the post office, after communication to the General Secretariat of Communications and, in any case, giving notice to the addressee of this circumstance at his or her own home and stating the nearest office and the timetable in which they may be removed.

Article 38. Special deliveries of postal items.

Postal shipments to deceased persons shall be delivered to their heirs or to those who have the administration of the estate, justified by their quality, except for those of the nature of the letter, in which case will be deposited with the office of destination. From this office, if possible, a referral will be sent to the sender to authorize their delivery to the heirs or to opt for their recovery.

Postal consignments to traders constituted in bankruptcy or persons declared in the competition of creditors shall be delivered to the trade unions or persons designated for that purpose by the competent authority.

Postal shipments to military units or similar entities shall be delivered, unless the express opposition of the addressees of the consignments, to the persons formally authorized to take charge of them under the responsibility of those who had authorised them. In the case of penitentiary centres, the specific rules governing them shall apply.

Ordinary postal items addressed to customers or residents of hotels, pensions, schools and other similar establishments may be delivered, unless they are expressly opposed by the addressees thereof, to the person authorized in them for receipt.

Certified postal items addressed to customers or residents of the establishments referred to in the preceding paragraph may, if they are expressly authorized by the recipient, be delivered to the same person. approved for the receipt of the ordinary postal items in the respective establishments.

Ordinary postal items may be delivered to the gatekeepers, managers or managers of the respective complexes or buildings, provided that they do not mediate express opposition from the recipients of the same. In the case of certified postal items, you must be expressly authorized by the recipients so that they can be delivered by the employee of the postal operator to the persons mentioned above.

Section 2. Admission and delivery of administrative and judicial organ notifications

Article 39. The feisty character of the notification.

The delivery of notifications of administrative and judicial bodies performed by the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service shall have the effect of the evidence of its receipt, without (a) prejudice to the effect of such notifications by other operators in the non-reserved area, the effects of which shall be governed by the rules of private law.

Article 40. Admission of notifications of administrative and judicial bodies.

The admission of notifications by the operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service has been entrusted requires that the word "Notification" be recorded in the consignment, and below it and in smaller characters, the act to refer to (citation, requirement, resolution) and the indication "Expedient No. .." or any other expression identifying the act to be notified.

These submissions will be accompanied by the document supporting your admission.

Article 41. General provisions on the delivery of notifications.

1. The requirements for the delivery of notifications, in terms of time and form, must be adapted to the requirements of Law 30/1992, of 26 November, of the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and of the Common Administrative Procedure, in the the wording given by Law 4/1999 of 13 January, amending it without prejudice to the provisions of the following Articles.

2. Where the notification is carried out at the address of the person concerned and is not present at the time of delivery of the notification, any person who is at the address may be taken over by the person concerned and shall state his or her address. identity.

3. The date, identity, number of the national identity document or of the document replacing him and the signature of the person or person who may be responsible for the notification in the terms provided for in the preceding paragraph shall be entered in the documentation of the employee of the postal operator and, where appropriate, notice of receipt accompanying such notification, in which the employee of the postal operator shall record his signature and identification number.

Article 42. Notification assumptions with two delivery attempts.

1. If the notification is attempted at the address of the person concerned, no one may take charge of it, this shall be stated in the documentation of the employee of the postal operator and, where appropriate, in the notice of receipt accompanying the notification, along with the day and time the attempt was made, an attempt to be repeated for once, and within a different time within the next three days.

2. If the second attempt is made, the latter shall be unsuccessful for the same cause as in the preceding paragraph or for the knowledge that has occurred in excess of one of those provided for in the following Article. documentation of the postal operator's employee and, where appropriate, the receipt notice accompanying the notification, together with the day and time the second attempt was made.

3. Once the two unsuccessful attempts have been made, the operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service has been entrusted must deposit the notifications, within one month, at the end of which the addressee is to be terminated. Notice of arrival in the corresponding house box, and must include in it, in addition to the dependency and the period of stay in the list of the notification, the circumstances expressed regarding the second attempt of delivery. This notice shall be ordinary.

4. If the person who is able to receive the notification is at home, refuses to accept it and to express in writing such a circumstance with his signature, identification and date in the documentation of the employee of the postal operator, it is understood that wishes to take charge of it, with this end in the express documentation of the employee of the postal operator and, where appropriate, in the notice of receipt accompanying the notification, together with the day and time at which the notification was attempted; The attempt will be repeated for once and for a different time within the next three days.

5. If the second attempt is made, the latter shall be unsuccessful for the same cause as in the preceding paragraph or for the knowledge that has occurred in excess of one of those provided for in the following Article. documentation of the postal operator's employee and, where appropriate, the receipt notice accompanying the notification, together with the day and time of the second attempt. From this moment on, such notification shall have the same treatment as those which have been refused or refused.

6. In all cases provided for in the preceding paragraphs, the employee of the postal operator shall record his signature and identification number on the receipt notice which, if applicable, accompany the notification and the arrival notice if he himself comes.

Article 43. Notification assumptions with an attempt to deliver.

A second delivery attempt will not proceed in the following assumptions:

(a) That the notification is refused or rejected by the person concerned or his/her representative, and must record this circumstance in writing with his signature, identification and date, in the documentation of the employee of the postal operator.

b) That the notification has an incorrect address.

c) The recipient of the notification is unknown.

d) That the recipient of the notification has passed away.

e) Any cause of analogous nature to those expressed, which objectively impropriates the second attempt to deliver.

In the assumptions provided above, the postal operator's employee shall record in the relevant documentation the cause of the non-delivery, date and time of the delivery, circumstances to be indicated in the notice of receipt, if appropriate, to accompany the notification, in which the postal operator's employee shall record his signature and identification number.

Article 44. Delivery of notifications to legal persons and public bodies.

1. In the case of the delivery of notifications to legal persons and public bodies, the rules laid down for the admission and delivery of notifications in the preceding articles shall be observed, with the peculiarities established in the present Article.

2. The delivery of notifications to legal persons shall be made to the representative of the legal persons, or to an employee of the same, stating in the documentation of the employee of the postal operator and, where appropriate, the notice of receipt accompanying the notification, identity, signature and date of notification, also stamping the company's stamp.

3. The delivery of notifications to public bodies shall be made to an employee of the same, stating in the documentation of the employee of the postal operator and, where appropriate, the notice of receipt accompanying the notification, his identity, signature and date of notification, also stamping the stamp of the public body.

They may also be delivered to the General Register of the public body in question, in this case sufficient to stamp the corresponding stamp of entry in the documents referred to in the preceding paragraph.

Section 3. Quality Standards

Article 45. Time limits for dispatch.

1. The provision of the universal postal service, established on a regular basis, will require the completion of the average delivery time, measured from end to end, according to the formula D + n, in which "D" represents the date of deposit and "n" the number of working days from that date to the date of delivery to the consignee. The rules of regularity set out in the following paragraph shall also be complied with.

For these purposes, the end-to-end dispatch deadline is the elapsed time from the deposit date at the network access point to the delivery date to the recipient.

The deposit date to be taken into account will be the same day that the shipment is deposited or the turn tax is imposed, in the case of financial services, provided that the deposit is made before the last collection time indicated for the point of access to the network in question. When the deposit is made after that deadline, the deposit date to be taken into account will be that of the next collection day.

2. The average time limits for dispatch and rules of regularity at national level shall be:

(a) For letters and postcards, a period of D + 3, which shall be at least 90 per 100 of these consignments. This compliance should reach 98 per 100 of the shipments within the D + 5 deadline.

b) For postal packages of up to 10 kilograms, a period of D + 3 in the 50 per 100, at least, of the shipments and of D + 5 in the 75 per 100.

c) For the spins, the deadline will be D + 3 by 75 per 100 and D + 5 by 95 per 100.

3. A tolerance threshold shall be established which shall allow the deviation of up to 5 per 100 in the percentages fixed for the different deadlines for dispatch.

The effects of a deviation higher than that mentioned will result in the amount of additional State funding in the form and conditions provided for in the Universal Postal Service Delivery Plan.

The deviation by more than 10 per 100 in the percentages set for the deadlines for issue shall determine the threshold for non-compliance, the effect of which shall be taken into account for the purposes of infringements and penalties.

4. The percentages set out in the previous paragraph may be revised and updated by Order.

5. In intra-Community cross-border services, time limits shall be laid down in Community legislation. As long as these deadlines are not altered, they will be those laid down by Directive 97 /67/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December on common rules for the development of the internal market in Community postal services and the improvement of the quality of the service, in relation to the average time of issue of the fastest standard category, of D + 3 by 85 per 100 and D + 5 by 97 per 100.

Article 46. Attention to the user.

1. The regularity in the provision of the universal postal service shall, in addition to the provisions set out in the previous article, provide adequate attention to the user, which shall be measured through an index. This index shall report on average regular attention to the user, at the offices and premises of the universal postal service provider.

2. The degree of reliability of postal services shall also be determined on the basis of the annual percentage of complaints lodged with the General Secretariat for Communications, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 20 (3). of this Regulation, submitted by the users of the services included in the universal postal service provided by the operator to whom the provision is entrusted, on the total of those submitted to that operator, in the field of that service universal.

Article 47. Assessment of the quality of the universal postal service.

1. The Universal Postal Service's Delivery Plan, provided for in Article 20 of Law 24/1998 of 13 July, will include quality commitments, in particular those relating to the time-limits for issue, the regularity and the reliability of the services to be required, to the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service, in the terms set out in this Regulation.

These commitments may be disaggregated in the urban, intra-provincial and inter-provincial areas, respecting, in any case, the global ones set out in this Regulation.

2. The quality control of the operation, which shall be the responsibility of the General Secretariat of Communications, as a regulatory body, shall be carried out at least once a year and independently by external entities without any link with the operator. of the universal postal service, under standardised conditions, in accordance with Directive 97 /67/EC. The results will appear in published reports, at least once a year and will be made available to the Postal Advisory Board.

3. The Ministry of Public Works, through the General Secretariat of Communications, may derogate from the quality standards when justified by exceptional situations for reasons of infrastructure or geography.

The operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service shall inform the General Secretariat of Communications of such exceptions for approval.

4. Failure to comply with the quality standards contained in this Section, provided that the results are not duly justified to the General Secretariat of Communications, shall, in accordance with the terms laid down in Article 46, give rise to the annual amount of public financing of the universal postal service, in accordance with the formulas set out in the provision of the Universal Postal Service, as provided for in Law 24/1998 of 13 July, and in the (a) the provisions of this Law and the penalties applicable to it in accordance with Title V of that Law Law 24/1998.

Section 4. Public postal network

Article 48. Public postal network.

1. According to Article 23 of Law 24/1998, of July 13, the public postal network is understood to be the set of means of all order employed by the operator to whom the presentation of the universal postal service has been entrusted, which allow:

(a) The collection, admission and classification of postal services covered by a universal service obligation, from access points throughout the territory of the State.

(b) The processing, course and transport of such consignments from the point of access to the postal network to the distribution centre, and (c) Distribution and delivery, at the address indicated in the consignment.

For the purposes of paragraph (a) of this paragraph, access points to the public postal network shall be considered to be the physical facilities where users may deposit their postal items for circulation by the postal network. The Universal Postal Service's Delivery Plan shall determine the access points and the frequency of collection, as well as the exceptional circumstances or geographical conditions of a general nature that may affect such frequency.

2. Access to the public postal network is ensured for all users and, where appropriate, postal operators who are subject to universal service obligations, under conditions of transparency, objectivity and non-discrimination.

Postal operators other than those referred to in the preceding paragraph must negotiate with the operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service has been entrusted with the conditions of access to the public postal network, compliance with the principles of transparency, non-discrimination and objectivity.

The conditions of access to the public postal network and the process of negotiation thereof shall, in any case, avoid any type of agreement, decision or collective recommendation, or concerted or consciously parallel practice, which has as its object, produces or may produce the effect of preventing, restricting or distorting competition in whole or in part of the Spanish postal market.

Article 49. Extension of the network.

The operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service shall ensure the provision of quality postal services on a permanent basis throughout the national territory, ensuring its comprehensive coverage through fixed offices or, in those distant areas, of disseminated population, or with difficulties of access to urban centres, through the systems provided for in this Regulation or, through mobile services, where appropriate.

It will also have a network of postal mailboxes that guarantee accessibility to the universal postal service, ensuring a collection at the access points every working day and, at least, five days a week, with the derogations provided for in this Regulation.

The overall network extension is initially the existing one, and can be modified according to the Universal Postal Service's Delivery Plan.

CHAPTER III

Other public service obligations

Article 50. Other public service obligations.

In addition to the obligations contained in this chapter and in the previous chapter, the Government may impose on the operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service has been entrusted, other public service obligations other than those laid down in Chapter II of Title III of Law No 24/1998 of 13 July 1998 to ensure the proper provision of that provision and, where necessary, for reasons of general interest, social or territorial cohesion, improvement of the quality of education and civil protection or where necessary to safeguard the normal development of processes in accordance with the provisions of the rules governing the general election regime.

CHAPTER IV

Collaboration of other entities with the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service

Article 51. General conditions.

1. The operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service has been entrusted may, exceptionally and for reasons of service, provide some or more of the operations of his or her activity, through the collaboration of other qualified entities the effect, which may, where appropriate, act on behalf of and on behalf of. Such operations shall be ancillary to the activity attributed to that operator.

For the purposes of the preceding paragraph, these operations shall be understood to be an accessory only where they relate to the collection, processing, classification or transport.

2. The relationship between the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service and its collaborations shall be governed by the rules of private law.

3. The selection of the collaborators will be carried out according to the needs of the aforementioned operator in order to a better delivery of the universal postal service, being able to be selected among those entities that meet the sufficient technical and organizational capacity conditions to be determined by the same.

The selection of the collaborators must avoid, in any case, any type of agreement, decision or collective recommendation, or concerted or consciously parallel practice, which has as its object, produces or can produce the effect to prevent, restrict or distort competition throughout or in part of the Spanish postal market.

4. A comprehensive list of the partners, of any kind, of the operator entrusted with the provision of the service, shall be communicated to the General Secretariat for Communications, for the purposes of their constancy and for inspection purposes. universal postal.

Article 52. Using distinctive signs.

If the conditions of the benefit on the part of the collaborators so require, they may use the name "Correos", as well as any other sign identifying the operator to whom the service has been entrusted of the universal postal service or the nature of the services provided by the universal postal service, in the terms and conditions laid down in the applicable regulation, in each case.

CHAPTER V

Financial Postal Service

Article 53. Postal spin service.

1. The drawing-up service, the provision of which is reserved exclusively to the operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service is entrusted, is the one by which payments are made to natural or legal persons on behalf of and to others, through the public postal network.

This service involves the delivery to the recipient or the authorized person of the economic amount at the address indicated, if any, admitting in their execution different qualities, depending on the forms of delivery.

2. The stages of the service management process will necessarily be carried out through the public postal network, without prejudice to the fact that, for technical reasons, the execution of some or some of the aforementioned phases is contracted with third parties.

The selection of the collaborators must avoid, in any case, any type of agreement, decision or collective recommendation, or concerted or consciously parallel practice, which has as its object, produces or can produce the effect to prevent, restrict or distort competition throughout or in part of the Spanish postal market.

3. The operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service is entrusted may, by itself or through third parties, carry out other financial services, the nature of which is similar to the activities covered by this Chapter and whose performance contributes to a better performance of the operator's own functions.

Article 54. Benefit scheme.

1. The service shall be carried out between all the offices of the public postal network authorized by the operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service has been entrusted, which shall also lay down the limitations which apply to the provision of the postal service. service as in the amount of the money, in accordance with the category of the offices that make up the aforementioned public postal network.

2. Impositions and payments shall be made on banknotes and coins of legal tender, conformed cheque or any other means admitted in law to be determined.

3. The operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service has been entrusted may agree on special arrangements for admission and delivery for orders imposed by public or private bodies and entities which are to be addressed on a fixed basis. and in high numbers, to recipients resident in the postal demarcation of the paying office.

4. The orders may be sent with a notice of receipt and may carry text or message, after payment by the sender of the corresponding economic consideration.

Article 55. Guarantees and time limits for payment.

1. The operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service guarantees the quantities that are delivered for the purpose of the turning service.

2. The period for the recovery of the orders at destination ends on the 25th of the month following that of his or her imposition or the subsequent working period, if that is a public holiday. If the recovery is not possible, the consignor shall be returned at the end of that period, remaining in the paying office corresponding to the postal address of the sender of the rotation until the 25th of the following month.

3. The orders returned to their submitters and not charged by them within the time limit referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be declared surplus to the expiry of those periods, their amounts remaining in the deposit enabled for that purpose by the operator to whom the entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service, at the disposal of the sender or of its legitimate rights holders, for a period of two years from the date of imposition.

4. The orders of the addressee shall remain in the office corresponding to the postal address of the addressee until the 25th of the month following the date of their formalisation, or the later date of the date of their formalisation. If it is a public holiday, the date from which the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply to the case of turns returned to their submitters.

5. The amounts of the orders whose withdrawal period has expired in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 4 above and which, after two years from the date of their imposition, have not been claimed by the sender or consignee, shall remain in force. the deposit of the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service where they shall prescribe within the time limits laid down in Article 46 of the General Budget Law.

Article 56. Payment procedure.

1. As a general rule, the orders must be paid to the recipient or authorized person in writing.

By reason of the special amounts of the orders and the recipients to whom they are addressed, the General Secretariat of Communications may establish specific rules for their delivery.

No payment will be made to the recipient when the judicial authority has ordered its suspension or embargo.

2. If payment has been made at the address and the address cannot be made, for any reason, a notice shall be left to the addressee indicating the office in which he/she can make the turn effective.

Article 57. Claim property and procedure.

1. The amount of the spins is the property of the sender as long as it does not reach the addressee, so he may request the recovery or modification of the postal address before the payment has been made, leaving the corresponding the right of economic consideration to the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service.

2. The amount of the transfer may be claimed for a period of two years from the date of the imposition, upon display of the corresponding safeguard.

3. Only reports to the senders or recipients of the orders, their legal representatives or representatives or the competent judicial authority may be provided, in other cases the professional secrecy.

Article 58. Operational procedures.

It is for the operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service has been entrusted to lay down the instructions governing the operational procedures for the provision of the service of rotation in accordance with the provisions laid down in this chapter.

TITLE III

Payment systems to the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 59. General principles.

1. Postage is one of the forms of payment of postal services to the operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service has been entrusted, consisting of the payment of the fee or the price to be applied to a postal service for the postal service. circulation by the public postal network.

2. The postal services provided by the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service may be paid, in addition to the postage systems indicated and the alternative means of payment to them, for any other means of payment admitted in law, in the case of services not included among those reserved, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 60.3.

3. The only applicable franking systems and alternative means of payment shall be those referred to in this Regulation.

4. The international postal items duly franked in the country of origin shall have free circulation in the Spanish territory, in accordance with the regulations of the Universal Postal Union.

5. The Ministry of Public Works, through the General Secretariat of Communications, shall ensure that the management of the payment systems referred to in this Title is applied with objective and non-discriminatory criteria, avoiding abuses with the users by the operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service has been entrusted.

Article 60. Payment systems.

1. Without prejudice to the provisions of Law 24/1998 of 13 July 1998, the payment of the postal services provided by the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service may be effected by any of the following systems: postage: postage stamps, envelopes, cards and cards-on stamps or distinctive signs previously stamped.

2. They are alternative means of payment to franking systems, printing of franking machines issued by automatic distributors installed by the operator entrusted with the provision of the service. Universal postal postage, deferred payment, postage and prepayment.

3. For services not included in the reserved area, any other means of payment admitted in law shall also be admissible.

CHAPTER II

Payment Systems

Section 1. Franking Systems

Article 61. Postage stamps.

1. The postage stamp has the amount of postage in the amount that is entered in the postage stamp.

2. The postage, by means of stamps, shall require incorporation into the cover of the consignment in question, adhering whenever possible, in a single horizontal row, in the upper right corner of the cover in which the address is given.

On the side of the shipping address only post stamps or service labels may be attached, but never vignettes or charities, advertising or any other class, except authorization granted by the operator which has been entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service.

In the case of vignettes or labels, advertising and the like, the words "Spain" or "Correos" may not be included, nor any indication concerning the value or other class that may lead to confusion with any element of franking.

Article 62. Stamps or other distinctive signs previously stamped.

They shall serve as postage, provided that they are officially issued, the stamps or distinctive signs that are incorporated into the cover of the postal shipment, the sale of the cover (envelopes, cards and cards) and the realization of the franking performed simultaneously.

Article 63. Emissions of postage signs.

The issue of signs of postage, which is understood by the postal stamps, both ordinary and commemorative, as well as the envelopes, cards and cards-on stamps previously stamped will be proposed by the operator. which has been entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service and is jointly authorised by the Ministries of Development and the Economy and Finance.

To this end, the emissions will be accommodated to what they have, by joint resolution, the Secretary General of Communications and the Undersecretary of Economy and Finance.

Only postage signs that meet the conditions detailed in that joint resolution will be considered as corresponding to a legal issue.

In addition, the aforementioned resolution may establish the maximum validity of the signs of franking that carry the corresponding emissions, the course of which will have the effect of the loss of the liberating power of those and their consequent expiration.

Without prejudice to the provisions of the previous paragraph, by joint resolution of the Secretary-General of Communications and the Deputy Secretary for Economic Affairs and Finance, upon request of the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service, the loss of the power of the free of charge may be established and, therefore, its expiry, if the decisions of which it brings cause the corresponding mission do not contain any provision for the

The operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service shall keep a record of all the emissions of postage signs to be agreed upon, in order to inform the public about the legality and validity of the which appear in the shipments deposited in their dependencies.

The signs of postage shall be made by the supplier determined by the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service.

Section 2. Alternate Payment Systems

Article 64. Alternative means of payment.

1. Postal consignments sent through the network of the operator to which the provision of the universal postal service has been entrusted may circulate with other means of payment alternative to postage, including the printing of machines of franking, postage stamps, deferred payment postage, postage and prepayment.

The application of these alternative payment systems to the postage effects for the services included in the universal postal service must be communicated by the aforementioned operator to the Ministry of Public Works, through the General Secretariat for Communications. Any changes to the procedures for the development and implementation of these payment systems shall also be communicated, in so far as they affect the universal postal service.

2. The authorisation by the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service of use, where appropriate, of any of these alternative means of payment to public or private entities and to natural persons shall be justified. for technical, operational or commercial reasons which benefit the provision of the postal services by that person. These same reasons, together with the non-compliance with the terms or instructions set out in the authorisation, will motivate the withdrawal of the authorisation.

Article 65. Impressions of franking machines.

The postage of postal items can be effected, in place of stamps or simultaneously with them, by means of prints or prints made with models of models authorized by the operator to which the provision of the universal postal service has been entrusted.

Troquels, voucher cards, guarantee seals or other means of control for the use of the machine shall be made by the supplier determined by the operator entrusted with the provision of the postal service. universal.

In the case of objects whose dimensions do not allow for direct printing or printing, it may be obtained from a label or strip in which the name and address of the sender and the consignee are printed, and which shall be to adhere in full to the respective shipments. This procedure may not, in any case, be applied to the insured correspondence.

Article 66. Postage stamps.

The postage stamps shall reflect the value of the fee or price required for the provision of the service concerned, adhering to the cover of the consignments in the terms established by the operator to which it has been entrusted. the provision of the universal postal service.

Article 67. Deferred payment postage.

Prior to the contract with the sender, the shipments will circulate with an identification of this means of payment, proceeding to the payment of the corresponding service in the moment, place and conditions established by the operator to which entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service.

Depending on your peculiarities, this system may support different payment arrangements, such as paid, concerted, and other postage that is determined by that operator.

Article 68. Franking on target.

In cases and with the requirements and conditions determined by the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service, payment for the provision of the corresponding service may be effected not at source, but target.

Article 69. Prepaid.

The prepaid system allows envelopes or packages containing postal items to incorporate the price or rate of the postal service.

Section 3. Other means of payment for postal services

Article 70. Other means of payment.

For services not included in the reserved area to the operator entrusted with the universal postal service, any other means of payment admitted in law may be established.

CHAPTER III

Authorizations for franking by machines

Article 71. Authorizations.

The operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service may authorise public or private entities and natural persons to use franking machines when advising them for technical reasons, operational or commercial which benefit the provision of postal services by that person.

Article 72. Procedure.

1. Entities or natural persons who wish to be authorised for the use of franking machines shall request, in writing, the body to be determined by the operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service has been entrusted, the use of the same.

2. The operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service shall reply to such request within two months of receipt of the request, which shall be refused in the absence of a reply.

Article 73. Content.

1. The authorisation granted by the operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service does not confer any other right than the use of the machine granted in the terms laid down in the authorisation and in the instructions provided by the operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service has been entrusted to determine.

2. Both the authorisation and the machine may not be transferred or transmitted to another person other than the authorised person.

3. The entity or natural person authorised for the use of the machine shall be liable for any damage or injury caused to the machine by the franking machine and to the misuse of the franking made through it.

Article 74. Revocation.

Authorisations for the use of franking machines may be revoked at any time without the right to any compensation, without prejudice to the application of Article 77 of this Regulation, where part of the operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service has been entrusted, any breach of the terms or instructions referred to in the first paragraph of Article 73 above is assessed. Once the act of revocation of the authorization has been issued, the dies must be reintegrated into the operator to whom the universal postal service has been entrusted within ten days and the latter shall, if appropriate, return the total or partial amount of the security.

Article 75. Warranty of use.

In order to ensure the proper use of the operator, the operator to whom the provision of the universal postal service has been entrusted may:

a) Require adequate bail to ensure damages that may arise from improper use of the machine.

b) Access the physical location where the physical location is located for the purpose of checking its correct usage.

c) Establish appropriate control mechanisms to ensure good use on the machine.

CHAPTER IV

Franking Irregularities

Article 76. Franking insufficiency.

Postal consignments intended to circulate within the national territory entering the public postal network without franking or underpostage shall pay as a minimum the amount of the postage rate at least twice that of the national territory. insufficient, which will be satisfied by the sender or the recipient, as appropriate.

Non-franked or underpaid postal items that are destined for or from abroad will be applicable to international regulations.

When it is estimated that the failure of the postage rate is abusive or intentional by the plurality and frequency of poorly franked shipments made by the same sender, they will not be sent to destination, and may be the infringement provided for in Article 41.2.j) of Law 24/1998 of 13 July 1998 of the Universal Postal Service and of the Liberalisation of Postal Services or, failing that, Articles 41.3 and 41.4.c) of the same legal text.

The forecasts contained in this article will apply to shipments for which payment has been made, both through the franking systems and through the alternative means of payment for printing machines. franking and pre-paid stamps, the value of which is insufficient.

Article 77. Violations in the field of postage.

To postal items franked with false or expired stamps or signs, the provisions of the preceding article for the alleged failure of franking and, where appropriate, the provisions of paragraph (h) of the article, shall apply. 41.2 of Law 24/1998, of July 13, without prejudice to any other order that may correspond to it according to the legislation in force.

CHAPTER V

Franking Media Distribution

Article 78. Exclusive right of distribution.

The operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service has, by virtue of the provisions of Article 19.2 of Law 24/1998, the exclusive right to the distribution of the postage stamps or other means of franking referred to in the following paragraph, the retail sale may be carried out, through the public postal network or through third parties in the terms provided for in this Regulation, without prejudice to the provisions of the provision Third transitional of Law 24/1998.

The operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service also has the right to the exclusive use of the name "Correos", of the term "Spain", or any other sign identifying the operator or identify the character of the services which, within its scope, provides.

Article 79. Distribution of seals or other means of postage.

The operator entrusted with the provision of the universal postal service may sell all payment systems for the services included in the scope of the universal postal service, provided that they are susceptible to retail distribution, both through the various points that make up your public postal network, and through third-party offices, with which you conclude the relevant contract.