The Postal Regulatory Commission issued an order yesterday requiring the U.S. Postal Service to file the quarterly surcharge income report that was due on February 16th. USPS was given until this Friday to file the report accounting for the extra income it had collected due to the exigent rate increase, along with an explanation for its delinquency.
The Postal Service was granted the 4.3% emergency rate increase on Christmas Eve 2013, with the stipulation that it be pulled back once it had collected $2.8 billion in “contribution,” or an estimated $3.2 billion in revenue. Also required by PRC were quarterly updates on the amount of emergency revenue collected.
USPS filed reports for the final three quarters of its 2014 fiscal year (ended September 30), showing it had accrued $1.35 billion in exigency revenue. However, the agency failed to file its Q1 report, most likely in waiting out a decision from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals asking to make the exigent increase permanent. Expected to be announced at least a month ago, the decision has not yet been issued by the court.
The Postal Service’s failure to file the report could affect further reporting procedures. The PRC had imposed additional reporting requirements beginning in the quarter when the Postal Service expected to meet its surcharge revenue limit—a period difficult to assess without regular reporting.
“The Postal Service’s delays to date, especially the most recent delay in providing this information, cause the Commission to question the Postal Service’s ability to submit necessary reports on the exigent surcharge revenue collection in the future,” read yesterday’s order from the PRC.
