ARTICLE 1. PURPOSE OF THE AGREEMENT
This Agreement between the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) a-
nd the Coordination Council for North American Affairs (CCNAA)
shall govern the exchange of International Business Reply Servi-
ce (IBRS) items between the territory represented by AIT and the
territory represented by CCNAA. In implementing this Agreement,
AIT shall work through its designated representative, the United
States Postal Service (USPS), and CCNAA shall work through its
designated representative, the Directorate General of Posts (DGP
), Ministry of Communications. This Agreement shall cover the e-
xchange of IBRS items between any areas for which the USPS and
the DGP exercise IBRS responsibilities.
ARTICLE 2. AUTHORIZATION
This agreement is entered into pursuant to the Taiwan Relations
Act of April 10, 1979, Public Law 96-8 (22 U.S.C.§§3301 et se-
q.).
ARTICLE 3. DEFINITIONS
As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the i-
ndicated meanings :
1. Administration - an abbreviated form used to refer to either
the USPS or the DGP .
2. Articles and sections - articles and sections of this Agreem-
ent, except when the context indicates an article which is or
can be inserted into an item.
3. Convention - the Universal Postal Convention as adopted by t-
he Congress of the Universal Postal Union from time to time.
4. Detailed Regulations - the Detailed Regulations of this Agre-
ement attached hereto.
5. International Business Reply Service (IBRS) - an internation-
al mail service which allows a mailer to obtain a permit or
license to distribute preaddressed cards and letters in mail-
ings to customers in another jurisdiction, for return to the
permit holder or licensee without postage being affixed. Ret-
urn postage for these mail items is guaranteed and will be p-
aid by the permit holder or licensee.
ARTICLE 4. GENERAL CONDITIONS FOR IBRS MAIL
1. Each administration shall offer IBRS on a permit or license
basis to customers who agree to use the service in accordance
with requirements established by that administration.
2. Each administration shall designate which of its exchange of-
fices will be responsible for the dispatch or receipt of IBRS
items. IBRS items shall be dispatched to or from only those
exchange offices so designated.
ARTICLE 5. CHARGES TO BE COL-
LECTED FROM THE PERMIT HOLDER/LICENSEE
1. Each administration shall fix the IBRS charges to be collect-
ed from the permit holder or licensee. Such charges shall be
fixed taking into account both the costs of the service and
market conditions.
2. The fees charged by each administration for returning IBRS i-
tems for delivery to the permit holder or licensee shall be
notified to the other administration.
ARTICLE 6. CONDITIONS OF ACCEPTANCE
1. Each IBRS item shall be either a card or an envelope weighing
not more than 2 ounces/50 grams.
2. Each IBRS item shall conform to the conditions for standardi-
zed items specified in Article 22 of the Convention, with the
exception that an IBRS envelope may weigh up to 2 ounces/50
grams.
3. Each IBRS item shall conform to the appropriate format requi-
rements specified in the Detailed Regulations to make it rea-
dily identifiable in sorting offices as an IBRS item.
ARTICLE 7. QUALITY OF SERVICE
Each administration shall ensure that IBRS items posted in its
territory are returned to the other administration as quickly as
possible. All IBRS items shall be handled as airmail items. Dis-
patches of returned IBRS items shall be made every day.
ARTICLE 8. ACCOUNTING
1. For each IBRS item returned, the administration where the it-
em is posted shall collect from the administration to which
the.item is destined a fee based on the costs of providing t-
he service, including collecting, handling, dispatching, and
conveying outbound IBRS items. The fee shall include the dir-
ect and indirect costs of providing such service, plus a rea-
sonable mark-up acceptable to both administrations, Accounts
shall be settled annually.
2. The administrations agree not to collect the fees authorized
in section 1 of this article for the first year this Agreeme-
nt is in effect, so as to allow IBRS to generate sufficient
volume to justify accounting.
3. The administrations shall notify each other of IBRS traffic
levels on a quarterly basis.
ARTICLE 9. DETAILED REGULATIONS
The implementation of this Agreement shall be governed by the D-
etailed Regulations.
ARTICLE 10. DISPUTE SETTLEMENT
Any dispute which arises concerning the interpretation or appli-
cation of this Agreement that cannot be resolved by the adminis-
trations to their mutual satisfaction shall be settled by negot-
iation between the administrations, following procedures agreed
upon by the administrations.
ARTICLE 11. ALTERATIONS OR
AMENDMENTS; ADDITIONAL RULES
AND REGULATIONS
1. This Agreement or the Detailed Regulations may be altered or
amended by mutual consent, by means of correspondence between
officials of each administration who have been authorized to
make such alterations or amendments.
2. Each administration is authorized to adopt internal implemen-
ting rules and regulations for IBRS not inconsistent with th-
is Agreement or the Detailed Regulations.
ARTICLE 12. ENTRY INTO FORCE AND DURATION
1. This Agreement shall enter into force after it is signed by
AIT and CCNAA on a date mutually agreed upon by the administ-
rations.
2. This Agreement shall expire twelve months after either party
notifies the other in writing of termination.
ARTICLE 13. EXECUTION
This Agreement may be executed in two counterparts, each of whi-
ch shall be deemed to be an original.
In Witness Whereof, the parties to this Agreement have caused it
to be executed at Washington, D.C., on the seventh day of Febru-
ary, 1992 and at Washington, D.C. on the seventh day of February
, 1992.
FOR THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE
IN TAIWAN
BY: (Signed)
NAME: Natale H. Bellocchi
TITLE: Chairman of the Board and
Managing Director
FOR THE COORDINATION
COUNCIL FOR NORTH AMERICAN
AFFAIRS
BY: (Signed)
NAME@ Ding Mou-Shih
TITLE: Representative
DETAILED REGULATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS REPLY
SERVICE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COORDINATION COUNCIL FOR
NORTH AMERICAN AFFAIRS AND THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE IN TAIWAN
The following Detailed Regulations have been drawn up to govern
implementation of the International Business Reply Service (IBRS
) Agreement between the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), wor-
king through its designated representative, the United States P-
ostal Service, and the Coordination Council for North American
affairs (CCNAA), working through its designated representative,
the Directorate General of Posts, Ministry of Communications.
ARTICLE 101. DEFINITIONS
The definitions set forth in Article 3 of the IBRS Agreement sh-
all be applicable to these Detailed Regulations.
ARTICLE 102. INFORMATION TO BE SUPPLIED BY THE ADMINISTRATIONS
1. Prior to the entry into force of the IBRS Agreement, each ad-
ministration shall notify the other administration of:
a. all prohibitions and restrictions on the entry of IBRS it-
ems into areas for which it exercises IBRS responsibilit-
ies;
b. the provisions of its regulations applicable to the conve-
yance of IBRS items;
c. its IBRS format requirements (including a sample of a con-
forming mailpiece marked to show such requirements); and
d. the locations of its exchange offices that will be respon-
sible for the dispatch or receipt of IBRS items.
2. Any change to the information mentioned in section 1. of this
article shall be communicated in writing immediately to the
other administration, except that an administration shall gi-
ve advance notice of redesignation of, or addition to, the e-
xchange offices that it uses for IBRS .
ARTICLE 103. ADDRESS OF THE ADDRESSEE
To be admitted for mailing, each IBRS item shall bear, in Roman
letters and Arabic numerals on the item itself, the addressee's
name, complete return address including postal code, and (if re-
quired) permit or license number.
ARTICLE 104. GENERAL MAKEUP OF MAILS
1. IBRS items shall be included in closed mails.
2. The IBRS items in each dispatch shall be bundled separately
from the rest of the mail. These bundles shall be included in
the final pouch of the dispatch.
ARTICLE 105. LETTER BILLS
1. A letter bill, on Universal Postal Union form C 12, shall ac-
company each dispatch .
2. The letter bill shall be marked so as to indicate clearly th-
at the dispatch contains IBRS items.
3. The total number of IBRS items in each dispatch shall be ent-
ered in the "Other information" block in Table V of the lett-
er bill. The number of IBRS cards and of IBRS envelopes shall
be noted separately.
ARTICLE 106. VERIFICATION OF DISPATCHES AND THEIR CONTENTS
1. Upon receipt of a dispatch containing IBRS items, the admini-
stration of destination shall verify that the dispatch is co-
nsistent with the entries on the letter bill.
2. The contents of each dispatch shall be verified as soon as p-
ossible, at an office designated by the administration of de-
stination, to confirm their conformity with the letter bill.
ARTICLE 107. NOTIFICATION OF IRREGULARITIES
1. Any evidence of missing or damaged IBRS bags or items shall
be reported immediately to the administration of origin by t-
elex or telefax, if appropriate, and shall be confirmed by v-
erification note on a Universal Postal Union Form C 14.
2. All other actions taken in connection with any irregularity
shall be governed by the regulations of the administration of
destination.
ARTICLE 108. PERIOD OF RETENTION OF RECORDS
1. Documents and other records relating to IBRS shall be retain-
ed for a minimum period of 18 months following the date to w-
hich they refer.
2. A record concerning a dispute or an inquiry shall be retained
until the matter has been settled. If the inquiring administ-
ration, duly informed of the result of an inquiry, allows six
months to elapse from the date of the communication without
raising any objections, the matter shall be regarded as sett-
led.
ARTICLE 109, IBRS FORMAT
REQUIREMENTS OF THE UNITED
STATES POSTAL SERVICE
Each IBRS item distributed in the territory represented by CCNAA
by an addressee in the territory represented by AIT shall meet
the following requirements:
1. All forms of printing are permissible, provided that the mar-
kings are legible to the satisfaction of both administrati-
ons. However, handwriting, typewriting, or handstamping cann-
ot be used to prepare the address side. All printing must be
in a dark color, provided there is at least a 30 percent ref-
lectance difference throughout the red spectral range of 550
to 775 manometers (nm) between the paper and ink.
2. The following size and weight requirements apply to IBRS car-
ds:
a. Minimum size: 3-1/2 by 5-1/2 inches .
b. Maximum size: 4-1/4 by 6 inches.
c. Thickness: Not less than .007 inch nor more than .0095 in-
ch.
3. The following size and weight requirements apply to IBRS env-
elopes:
a. Minimum size: 3 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches .
b. Maximum size: 4-3/4 by 9-1/4 inches .
c. Thickness: Not less than .007 inch nor more than .2 inch.
d. Maximum weight: 2 ounces.
4. The complete address must appear, including the name of the
permit holder, street address (and/or post office box number)
, city, state, the unique ZIP+4 Code that is preassigned, and
the territory of destination (United States of America), with
the bottom line of the address no lower than 5/8 of an inch
and the city, state, and ZIP+4 Code line no higher than 2-1/4
inches from the bottom edge of the mailpiece. A clear margin
void of any extraneous matter (except for the horizontal bars
specified in section 5 of this article) of at least 1 inch is
required between the left and right edges of the mailpiece a-
nd the address.
5. The face of the card or envelope must bear the following det-
ails so that the item may be readily identified as IBRS and
not treated as unpaid mail:
a. The legend "INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS REPLY MAIL/ REPONSE PA-
YEE" must appear above the address in capital letters at
least 3/16 of an inch high. Immediately below the legend
the words "PERMIT NO.," followed by the permit number and
the issuing post office (city and state) must be shown in
capital letters. This information must appear between two
horizontal bars at least 3/32 of an inch thick and at lea-
st 1/2 of an inch apart. The endorsement "Postage will Be
Paid by the Addressee" must appear immediately below the
lower bar.
b. The endorsement "NE PAS AFFRANCHIR, NO POSTAGE NECESSARY
IF MAILED TO THE UNITED STATES" must be printed in the up-
per right-hand corner of the face of the piece with a par-
tial diagonal bar. The that is territory of endorsement m-
ust not extend further than 1-3/4 inches from the right e-
dge of the mailpiece.
c. The endorsement "AIR MAIL/PAR AVION" must be shown in the
upper left corner on reverse print. Immediately beneath t-
his endorsement must appear the words "IBRS/CCRI No." fol-
lowed by the permit number.
6. A series of horizontal bars parallel to the length of the ma-
ilpiece must be printed immediately below the endorsement "NO
POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED TO THE UNITED STATES." The bars-
must be uniform in length, at least 1 inch long, and 1/16 of
an inch to 3/16 of an inch thick and evenly spaced. The vert-
ical column of horizontal bars must not extend below the del-
ivery address line, which is the line above the line contain-
ing the ZIP+4 Code. There must be at least 1/2 of an inch cl-
earance between the ZIP+4 Code and the bars.
7. ZIP+4 Postnet Barcodes preassigned by the United States Post-
al Service must be printed on the address side of each IBRS
item within the "barcode read area," which must be free of a-
ny printing other than the bar code. The read area extends 5/
8 of an inch from the bottom and at least 4-1/2 inches from
the right side of the item. The bottom of the bars must be p-
ositioned 1/4 of an inch (+/- 1/16 of an inch) from the bott-
om edge of the item and the barcode must be completely conta-
ined within the read area.
8. Each IBRS item must contain a Facing Identification Mark (FIM
) pattern C, printed at the top right portion of the address
side of the item. The top of the FIM C bar pattern must be w-
ithin 1/8 of an inch of the edge of the item and may extend
to the edge. The right-most bar of the pattern must be within
2 inches (+/- 1/8 of an inch) of the right edge of the item.
The FIM bars must be 5/8 of an inch (+/- 1/8 of an inch) long
. The entire FIM pattern must be completely contained within
a rectangular clear zone measuring 1-1/4 inches in length and
5/8 of an inch in height, with its top edge formed by the top
edge of the item and its right edge beginning 1-3/4 inches f-
rom the right edge of the item.
ARTICLE 110. IBRS FORMAT REQUIREMENTS OF THE DIRECTORATE
GENERAL OF POSTS, MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS
Each IBRS item distributed in the territory represented by AIT
by an addressee in the territory represented by CCNAA shall meet
the following requirements:
1. All forms of printing are permissible, provided that the mar-
kings are legible to the satisfaction of both administrations
. However, handwriting, type writing , or handstamping may n-
ot be used to prepare the address side. All printing must be
in a dark color contrasting clearly with a white or light sh-
aded background. vivid colors or dyes containing phosphoresc-
ent substances are not permitted.
2. The following size and weight requirements apply to IBRS car-
ds:
a. Minimum size: 90 by 140 mm, with a tolerance of 2 mm.
b. Maximum size: 120 by 235 mm, with a tolerance of 2 mm.
c. Thickness: Must be sufficiently stiff to withstand proces-
sing without difficulty.
3. The following size and weight requirements apply to IBRS env-
elopes:
a. Minimum size: 90 by 140 mm, with a tolerance of 2 mm.
b. Maximum size: 120 by 235 mm, b. with a tolerance of 2 mm.
c. Thickness: Not more than 5 mm.
d. Maximum weight: 50 grams.
4. The name and full postal address of the addressee in the ter-
ritory represented by CCNAA must appear parallel to the leng-
th of the item and underneath the horizontal bars specified
in section 5 of this article, The address must be clear with
the name of the post town, the word "TAIWAN," and the postal
code printed in capital letters.
5. The face of the card or envelope must bear the following det-
ails so that the item may be readily identified as IBRS and
not treated as unpaid mail:
a. The words "REPONSE PAYEE" and "TAIWAN" must appear on two
lines above the address in capital letters at least 4 mm
high. The words must appear between two horizontal bars a-
t least 3 mm thick, 80 mm in length, and 14 mm apart from
their inside edges (20 mm ap art from their outside edges)
. The bars must be 15 mm from the right-hand edge of the
item and parallel to the length of the item.
b. The "no stamp required" indicator must appear approximate-
ly 5 mm from both the top edge and right edge of the item.
The indicator must be in an outlined box of 40 mm in leng-
th by 30 mm in height, containing the design showing a bar
diagonally passing through an outline of a postage stamp,
from the top left-hand corner to the bottom right-hand co-
rner. The words "NE PAS AFFRANCHIR" must appear above this
design and the words "NO STAMP REQUIRED" must appear below
this design, within the outlined box.
c. An airmail label with the words "BY air mail" and "Par av-
ion" on reverse print must appear in the top left-hand co-
rner.
ARTICLE 111. ENTRY INTO FORCE AND DURATION
1. These Detailed Regulations shall enter into force on the same
date as the IBRS Agreement.
2. These Detailed Regulations shall have the same duration as t-
he IBRS Agreement.