ISLAMABAD: With mushroom growth and booming business of courier companies, the government is considering setting up of Pakistan Private Courier Services Regulatory Authority (PPCSRA) to regulate and monitor courier services for improved competition, revenue collection and consumer protection.

The ministries of finance, postal services, law and justice and interior are currently in consultation process for finalisation of legislation that could be put in place through a presidential ordinance or an act of parliament after May 11 general elections.

The proposed regulatory authority would not only regulate the functions of courier and cargo services but also generate funds for the government and set tariffs for courier services in a transparent and fair manner.

A senior government official told Dawn on Monday that postal and courier market in Pakistan had transformed so dramatically in recent years that most of the business that used to be handled by the public sector had moved into the private sector without any regulation.

“Evolving customers’ needs and proliferation of operators in the market present new challenges for the government to lay down rules of competition with the prime objective to protect the interests of the customers”, said a summary moved recently to the cabinet.

It added that it would become possible to organise competition, market controls and compliance with the established rules for postal and courier sector only through regulation which had emerged as a phenomenon and a necessity.

Currently, private couriers, cargo and logistics service providers were handling packets and parcels to majority of customers but were operating without any regulatory regime. “They are free to fix their charges and usurping government revenue through non-payment of general sales tax and other taxes. Under pricing and over pricing instances are running rampant and there is no protection to consumers”, said the summary.

On top of that their mail is also not subject to any checking to guard against transmission of anti-state material and hence it had become a legal requirement to introduce some regulatory mechanism. The national assembly’s standing committee on postal services had also recommended the need for prescribing a regulatory framework for courier services.

The proposed regulatory authority would have a chairman and seven members including four senior officers of the ministries of postal services, law and justice, finance and director general of Pakistan Post Office Department and three private sector members including a representative of private courier services and two private sector experts of background in law, accounting and administration. The term of office for members shall be two years.

The regulatory authority would be responsible for providing a level playing field to all stakeholders in the courier business and ensure rational rates of various services provided by the private courier and cargo services and set financial and operational standards for issuance of licenses to the private firms.

The courier, cargo and logistic service providers would be responsible under their licence to protect sovereignty, security and integrity of Pakistan and respect social, religious and cultural values and ensure that their operations do not contribute towards violence, terrorism, racial, ethnic or religious discrimination, sectarianism and extremism.

The courier service licence holders would be bound to extend full cooperation with the designated law enforcing agencies with regard to checking of mail an courier material and in compliance with provisions of the Post Office Act of 1898.

The regulatory authority would be required to take decisions on the application for a licence within 60 working days, revise licence renewal fee from time to time. The licence shall have a validity of two years and then require renewal.

The proposed legislation also seeks to involve ministry of interior in the vetting of terms of engagements with any foreign mission for all existing and future courier services in providing authorized visa documentation facilities with Pakistan based diplomatic missions.

The licences would not be granted to a person who is not a citizen of Pakistan or not resident in Pakistan and a foreign company organised under the law of any foreign government and is not registered in Pakistan for its operations.

Any private courier or cargo firm who violated or abetted the proposed legislation shall be guilty of any offence punishable with a fine up to Rs1 million and on repetition of violation be liable for imprisonment for one year and a fine of Rs1 million.