Prices of services that integrate the universal service covered by this decision must be cost-oriented, and encourage an efficient provision of the universal service.
The cost orientation of prices aims to ensure a proper management of the universal service and to prevent competition distortions, in this last case avoiding that the lack of competition allows an operator to apply prices that are either excessive or too low, with anti-competitive intentions or to the detriment of users.
There is at the same time a possibility of cross-subsidization from less competitive segments to potentially more competitive segments, higher prices being charged in the former case to compensate for predatory prices in the latter, which may be used as an attempt to exclude competition in the potentially more competitive market.
CTT is under the obligation (article 15 of the Postal Law) to be provided with a cost accounting system that allows a separation of accounts between each of the services and products which are part of the universal service and those which are not. This cost accounting system must also allow the separation between costs associated to the various operations integrating the postal service (clearance, sorting, transport and distribution).
This obligation to be provided with a cost accounting system aims to introduce transparency in real costs of the various services. It is thus a tool which ICP - ANACOM may use to obtain information to check fulfilment of the principle of cost-orientation, as well as of transparency and non-discrimination.
Prices of services that integrate the universal service must, on the other hand, respect the principle of affordability to all users [14, paragraph 1 a)].
- 7.1 On the concept of cost-orientation of prices https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=380519
- 7.2 On the concept of affordability https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=380520
- 7.3 Application to the correspondence delivery service https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=380521
- 7.4 Application to the editorial mail service https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=380522
- 7.5 Application to the editorial mail service https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=380523
- 7.6 Application to reserved services https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=380524
