The undersigned, by virtue of the authority vested in them, have
concluded the following Agreement.
ARTICLE 1. PURPOSE OF THE AGREEMENT
This Agreement shall govern the exchange of International Busin-
ess Reply Service (IBRS) items between the Postal Administration
of Taiwan, ROC, Postgen Taipei and the Postal Administration of
The Netherlands, PTT Post International including any areas of
which the postal administration of these two countries exercise
International Business Reply Service responsibilities.
ARTICLE 2. 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 Postal Administrations of Taiwan, ROC or the Postal Admin-
istration of The Netherlands, PTT Post International.
2.Articles and sections - articles and sections of this Agreeme-
nt, 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 the
Congress of the Universal Postal Union from tine to tine.
4.Detailed Regulations - the Detailed Regulations of this Agree-
ment attached hereto.
5.International Business Reply Service (IBRS) - an international
mail service which allows a mailer to obtain an permit or lic-
ense to distribute pre-addressed cards and letters in mailings
to customers in another country ,for return to the permit hol-
der or licensee without postage being affixed. Return postage
for these mail items is guaranteed and will be paid by the pe-
rmit holder of licensee.
ARTICLE 3. GENERAL CONDITIONS FOR IBRS MAIL
1.Each administration shall offer IBRS on a permit or license b-
asis 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 off-
ices will be responsible for the hispatch or receipt of IBRS
items. IBRS items shallbe dispatched to or from only those ex-
change offices so designated.
ARTICLE 4. CHARGES TO BE COLLECTED FROM THE PERMIT HOLDERILICEN-
SEE
1.Each administration shall fix the IBRS charges to be collected
from the permit holder of licensee.
2.The fees charged by each administration for returning IBRS it-
ems for delivery to the permit holder or licensee shall be no-
tified to the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Un-
ion, which will publish them in the Compendium of Information
(Convention).
ARTICLE 5. CONDITIONS OF ACCEPTANCE
1.Each IBRS shall be either a card weighing not more than 20 gr-
ammes or an envelope weighing not more than 50 grammes.
2.Each IBRS item shall conform to the conditions for standardiz-
ed items specified in Article 22 of the Convention, with the
exception that an IBRS envelope may weigh up to 50 grammes.
3.Each IBRS item shall conform to the appropriate format requir-
ements specified in the Detailed Regulations to make it readi-
ly identifiable in sorting offices as an IBRS item.
ARTICLE 6. QUALITY OF SERVICE
Each administration Shall ensure that IBRS items posted in its
territory are returned to the administration as quickly as poss-
ible. All IBRS items shall be handled as airmail items. Dispatc-
hes of returned items shall be made every day.
ARTICLE 7. ACCOUNTING
1.For each IBRS item returned, the administration where the item
is posted shall collect from the administration to which the
item s destined a fee based on the cost for providing the ser-
vice, including collecting, handling, dispatching, and convey-
ing outbound IBRS items. The fee shall include the direct and
indirect costs of providing such service, plus a reasonable m-
ark-up acceptable to both administrations. Accounts shall be
settled annually (see Article 110 Detailed Regulations).
2.The administrations shall agree not to collect the fees autho-
rized in section 1 of this article for the first year this Ag-
reement is in effect, so as to allow IBRS to generate suffici-
ent volume to justify accounting. At the end of this one-year
period the administrations shall discus whether to commence c-
ollection of the fees authorized in section 1 of this article
or to continue not collecting those fees for another fixed pe-
riod of time See Article 110 of the Detailed Regulations.
3.The administrations shall notify each other of IBRS traac lev-
els on an annual basis.
ARTICLE 8. DETAILED REGULATIONS
The implementation of this Agreement shall be governed by the D-
etailed Regulations.
ARTICLE 9. ARBITRATION
Any dispute which arises between the administrations concerning
the interpretation or application of this Agreement that cannot
be resolved by the administrations to their mutual satisfaction
shall be settled by arbitration, following the arbitration proc-
edures of the Universal Postal Union at the time that the dispu-
te is submitted by an administration for arbitration. The arbit-
rators shall be chosen from other postal administrations that p-
rovide a service analogous to IBRS.
ARTICLE 10. ALTERATIONS OR AMENDMENTS; ADDITIONAL RULES AND REG-
ULATIONS
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 implement-
ing rules and regulations for IBRS not inconsistent with this
Agreement or the Detailed Regulations.
ARTICLE 11. ENTRY INTO FORCE
1.This Agreement shall enter into fore on the date mutually agr-
eed upon by the administrations, aRer it has been signed by t-
heir authorized representatives
2.This Agreement shall expire three months after either adminis-
tration notifies the other in writing of termination.
ARTICLE 12. EXECUTION
This Agreement may be executed in two counterparts, each of whi-
ch shall be deemed to be an original.
In witness hereof, the parties to this agreement have caused it
to be executed at Taipei, on the Ist day of October 1994 and at
Hoofddorp, on the 20 day of September 1994.
On behalf of the Postal Administration of Taiwan, ROC
Name Postal Administration: Directorate General of Posts
Name Functionary: Y.C. Kao
Function :Director International Department
Signature
On behalf of the Postal Administration of The Netherlands
Name Postal Administration: PTT Post International
Name Functionary: Mrs. C.S. Bos
Function : Director Operations gt International Relations
Signature: