Division INTRODUCTION

The post has always been one of the most widely used methods of sending not only greetings and information but also gifts and other goods from one person to another.

The customs are necessarily involved in international postal traffic since, just as in the case of goods imported and exported by other means, they have to ensure that the appropriate duties and taxes are collected, enforce import and export prohibitions and restrictions, and in general ensure compliance with the laws and regulations which they are responsible for enforcing.

Because of the special nature of postal traffic, however, the customs formalities in respect of items carried by post are somewhat different from those applied to goods carried by other means. While individul postal items are restricted in size, their numbers are enormous and, to avoid creating unacceptable delays, special administrative arrangement are necessary to deal with them. These are made possible because in virtually all countries the postal services are furnished by public administrations or authorities, and the two public bodies involved in postal traffic, the post and the customs, cooperate very closely with one another.

In addition to this close cooperation between customs and postal authorities at the national level, there is close collaboration at the international level between the Universal Postal Union (the international organization whose rules and regulations govern postal traffic) and the Council. These two international organizations have, for example, established a Contact Committee at which customs and postal experts meet to discuss and find internationally acceptable solutions to problems which cannot be resolved nationally or bilaterally.