Accurate “direct mail” means that both the sending and receiving ends are postal services, data is transmitted through the channels of the Universal Postal Union, and the postal services of the two places handle the handover and transportation of collection, transportation, customs clearance and distribution. After the implementation of the new cross-border e-commerce policy, direct mail has experienced a rebound. A large number of overseas purchases have chosen postal parcels for shipping back to their home countries as personal items. As the first cross-border logistics channel, the postal service has several outstanding advantages.
First, it is widespread. Postal services are still exclusive in most countries, and the network is developed. It is simple and convenient to find a post office for overseas parcel delivery, and door-to-door delivery is possible in China. The mail channel is managed according to the “negative list” and a wide range of goods can be mailed. The second is safety. It is endorsed by the postal reputation of various countries. International online transportation is mainly direct air flights. There are special channels for customs and handover at both ends, ensuring that the parcel operation is controllable.
Postal services are not express mail, but the regulations prohibiting and restricting the delivery of personal items are universal. Third, the customs declaration procedures are simple. Postal customs declaration is not a commercial customs declaration for express delivery. The postal office and customs are referred to as postal customs. It is a set of independent supervision channels affiliated with the customs. The postal service provides the customs with entry and exit postal business documents, including incoming and outgoing mail routing notes, Customs clearance can be done in batches with the seal list, CN22/23 customs declaration label and customs declaration form, etc.
After receiving the postal notice, the recipient must truthfully declare the imported items. He or his agent must go to the customs declaration hall to fill out the “Declaration Form for Entry Personal Postal Items”, submit relevant materials and pay taxes. ID card, shopping invoice or other shopping voucher. Or go directly to the postal EMS official website and WeChat to make an appointment. After completing the online declaration and tax payment, EMS will be delivered to your door. These procedures are much simpler than express mail. Fourth, freight is low, and postal parcel rates are generally lower than commercial logistics. Of course, there is also the appeal of low taxes.
Postal parcels are subject to the supervision of inbound and outbound personal items at the customs and are not included in trade statistics. The benefits of personal postal tax have already been mentioned, and it is the country’s inclusive care for individuals. Therefore, China Customs clearly requires that logistics companies are prohibited from using postal customs when entering the country on behalf of overseas postal parcels. Only domestic parcels contracted by foreign postal services and handed over to EMS in accordance with the regulations of the Universal Postal Union can use postal customs clearance, that is, postal companies must End-to-end service.
However, hundreds of millions of dollars of international postal parcels flow in every year. Under the existing customs clearance logic, it is almost impossible to achieve complete sunshine. Usually, the customs pre-examines the general mail declaration form, selects those that are obviously subject to tax, and then controls the X-ray machine, compares the conditions on the same screen, and then conducts inspection.
The intensity of inspection directly determines the efficiency of customs clearance. Sometimes illegal purchasing and smuggling are severely cracked down. Many items with a taxable value of more than 50 yuan at ports must be unpacked for inspection; if the value exceeds the limit, even if the user is willing to pay the tax, it will be transferred from the postal customs. Customs clearance of general cargo is also quite complicated, and a customs clearance company must be entrusted; if it is infant milk powder, the birth certificate or household registration book of the recipient’s child must be provided when declaring; if the declaration is fraudulent, it is suspected of deliberate smuggling.
At the same time, the processing capacity of mail channels is limited. The amount of mail a port can handle in a day depends on the configuration of customs personnel and equipment. As direct mail explodes in the overseas shopping market, channels are blocked, and strict inspections will aggravate the blockage. This is also a key link in the timeliness issue of postal parcels. For example, Japan Post is overwhelmed and stipulates that items exceeding 200,000 yen in a single import and export will be charged additional customs declaration fees. Customs clearance is uniquely convenient, and personal mail is protected by global laws. As a legal and formal international logistics channel, the postal service is always the first choice.