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Posties face data double whammy

[ January 15, 2021   //   ]

New regulations will require postal authorities to provide advance electronic data on mail entering the US and EU, reports e-commerce specialist Hurricane. Full enforcement of the US STOP Act will take effect on the same day as the EU’s ICS2 rules, it says.

The US STOP Act had been due to come into full force on 1 January, but Senator Rob Portman reluctantly granted an extension to 15 March after hearing that Customs and Border Protection needed more time to finalise regulations, making it clear that no further delays would be acceptable.

He also highlighted how other countries including France, Spain and Germany have started to require identifying data ahead of the implementation of ICS2, also on 15 March.

Portman said: “Packages entering those countries without identifying data will be delayed or considered inadmissible and returned to sender.  Further, starting 15 March, the European Union will require identifying data on a package before it is loaded onto a plane for shipment.”

Hurricane chief executive Martyn Noble (pictured), said: “On the one hand, Senator Portman’s extension to March 15 gives postal operators a little more time to get prepared. But with the full enforcement of the STOP Act now coinciding with the implementation of the EU’s ICS2 on the same day – March 15 – it is a real double whammy and presents posts with a hugely challenging eight weeks to ensure they are able to meet the higher threshold of advance electronic data.

“There is now the very real prospect of hundreds of millions of parcels being rejected into the US and EU from March 15.

“Those postal authorities which are fully prepared for the greater requirements around AED will not only be compliant but will also put themselves in the driving seat to capitalise on the continuing exponential growth in cross-border eCommerce trade.”

Hurricane has developed software that meet the needs of postal operators, carriers, eCommerce merchants, marketplaces and platforms.

Hurricane’s Zephyr data enhancement API allows bulk clearance facilities to check the accuracy of data including product descriptions and HS6 codes, and receive additional pertinent or missing information all under a single quick check function.

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