TRA announces fee cap on postal handling charges

MUSCAT: The decision of fee cap on handling charges collected by postal companies has been applied from January 12, 2020 for one year.

According to the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), “All international incoming postal articles are subject to customs clearance at ports of entry by the Directorate General of Customs.”

“Licensed postal/courier service providers carry out the customs clearance process on behalf of the beneficiaries, through which customs duties that beneficiaries are required to pay for the postal articles are paid for by the postal service providers to expedite the clearance process.”

“Amounts paid on behalf of the beneficiaries during the clearance process will be collected by postal companies upon delivery of the postal articles.

“These amounts may include customs duties on goods and articles and any costs incurred during the clearance and handling procedures,” the authority said in a statement.

“TRA, in cooperation with the Directorate General of Customs, has issued directives to all licensed postal companies to set a fee cap on the handling charges collected by postal companies from beneficiaries.

The fee cap on handling charges is effective for one year, starting from January 12, 2020.

The fee cap for personal postal articles with a value not exceeding OMR300 is two rials, and four rials for articles valued above OMR300,” the authority said.