Sending a letter or package will cost you more money soon: here's why

The Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT) approved an increase of 7.44% on average by Bpost, from January 1, 2019, its rates for letters and standard packages, announced Wednesday the regulator of the sector telecoms.

The substantial increase in tariffs concerns postal services known as the "small user basket", ie standard letters and packages for individuals and small businesses. These tariffs mark the return to stamps "prior", with distribution of mail the next working day, and "non-prior", with distribution within three working days maximum; a distinction that had been abolished in early 2007, confirms Bpost in a statement. These new stamps will be on sale from January 1st, 2019.

The postal company specifies that the postage stamp will cost 1 euro (0.97 euro per 10) and the non-priority 0.95 euro (0.92 euro by 10). Despite these increases, which must offset the steady decline in mail volumes, Bpost still claims to be "below the European average for the price of the postage stamp (€ 1.24 for a comparable service)." In addition, Bpost announces that the postage rate for a standard shipment shipped to Europe will increase to € 1.40 with the purchase of a minimum of five postage stamps and € 1.46 for a single purchase.

0.95 euro for the non-prior stamp

For shipments shipped outside Europe, the international price will be € 1.62 from five postage stamps and € 1.68 per unit. "In total, the average tariff increase for 2019 of all national mail products will be around 4.6%," said the state-owned company. For its part, the BIPT notes that "for the prior stamp, the change from the unit tariff to 1 euro represents an increase of 14.9% compared to 2018 and 26.6% compared to 2017, the year when the IBPT refused the price increase requested by Bpost (under the old postal law).

The new non-prior stamp will be, with a unit price of 0.95 euro, marketed at a price higher than the current stamp prior (0.87 euro). "The regulator has calculated that compared to 2017, the small users will pay together in 2019 an additional cost of around 50 to 100 million euros for the services offered by Bpost.

BIPT considers that these tariff increases may not be compatible with the principle of cost orientation as applied in its 2017 tariff decision. But with the new postal law, BIPT can no longer really control this principle, stresses the Institute. BIPT, on the other hand, found that the tariff increases for 2019 corresponded to the principles of uniformity, transparency and non-discrimination, which led it to approve the increase of 7.44% on average.