Artikel 19

1. General
1.1 Items not fulfilling the conditions laid down in the Convention and the Regulations shall not be admitted. Items sent in furtherance of a fraudulent act or with the intention of avoiding full payment of the appropriate charges shall not be admitted.
1.2 Exceptions to the prohibitions contained in this article are set out in the Regulations.
1.3 All member countries or their designated operators shall have the option of extending the prohibitions contained in this article, which may be applied immediately upon their inclusion in the relevant compendium. Any member country or its designated operator wishing to extend or amend the list of articles that it prohibits, or admits conditionally, as imports (or in transit) shall inform the International Bureau, which shall then update the relevant compendium accordingly.
2. Prohibitions in all categories of items
2.1 The insertion of the articles referred to below shall be prohibited in all categories of items: 2.1.1 narcotics and psychotropic substances, as defined by the International Narcotics Control Board, or other illicit drugs which are prohibited in the country of destination;
2.1.2 obscene or immoral articles;
2.1.3 counterfeit and pirated articles;
2.1.4 other articles the importation or circulation of which is prohibited in the country of destination;
2.1.5 articles which, by their nature or their packing, may expose officials or the general public to danger, or soil or damage other items, postal equipment or third-party property;
2.1.6 documents having the character of current and personal correspondence exchanged between persons other than the sender and the addressee or persons living with them;
2.1.1 narcotics and psychotropic substances, as defined by the International Narcotics Control Board, or other illicit drugs which are prohibited in the country of destination;
2.1.2 obscene or immoral articles;
2.1.3 counterfeit and pirated articles;
2.1.4 other articles the importation or circulation of which is prohibited in the country of destination;
2.1.5 articles which, by their nature or their packing, may expose officials or the general public to danger, or soil or damage other items, postal equipment or third-party property;
2.1.6 documents having the character of current and personal correspondence exchanged between persons other than the sender and the addressee or persons living with them;
3. Dangerous goods
3.1 The insertion of dangerous goods as described in the Convention and Regulations shall be prohibited in all categories of items.
3.2 The insertion of replica and inert explosive devices and military ordnance, including replica and inert grenades, inert shells and the like, shall be prohibited in all categories of items.
3.3 Exceptionally, dangerous goods may be admitted in relations between member countries that have declared their willingness to admit them either reciprocally or in one direction, provided that they are in compliance with national and international transport rules and regulations.
4. Live animals
4.1 Live animals shall be prohibited in all categories of items.
4.2. Exceptionally, the following shall be admitted in letter-post items other than registered and insured items: 4.2.1 bees, leeches and silk-worms;
4.2.2 parasites and destroyers of noxious insects intended for the control of those insects and exchanged between officially recognized institutions;
4.2.3 flies of the family Drosophilidae for biomedical research exchanged between officially recognized institutions.
4.2.1 bees, leeches and silk-worms;
4.2.2 parasites and destroyers of noxious insects intended for the control of those insects and exchanged between officially recognized institutions;
4.2.3 flies of the family Drosophilidae for biomedical research exchanged between officially recognized institutions.
4.3 Exceptionally, the following shall be admitted in parcels: 4.3.1 live animals whose conveyance by post is authorized by the postal regulations and/or national legislation of the countries concerned.
4.3.1 live animals whose conveyance by post is authorized by the postal regulations and/or national legislation of the countries concerned.
5. Insertion of correspondence in parcels
5.1 The insertion of the articles mentioned below shall be prohibited in postal parcels: 5.1.1 correspondence, with the exception of archived materials, exchanged between persons other than the sender and the addressee or persons living with them.
5.1.1 correspondence, with the exception of archived materials, exchanged between persons other than the sender and the addressee or persons living with them.
6. Coins, bank notes and other valuable articles
6.1. It shall be prohibited to insert coins, bank notes, currency notes or securities of any kind payable to bearer, travellers’ cheques, platinum, gold or silver, whether manufactured or not, precious stones, jewels or other valuable articles: 6.1.1 in uninsured letter-post items; 6.1.1.1 however, if the national legislation of the countries of origin and destination permits this, any of the valuable articles mentioned in 6.1 and corresponding to documents only may be sent in a closed envelope as registered items;
6.1.1.1 however, if the national legislation of the countries of origin and destination permits this, any of the valuable articles mentioned in 6.1 and corresponding to documents only may be sent in a closed envelope as registered items;
6.1.1bis in insured letter-post items, except for any of the valuable articles mentioned in 6.1 and corresponding to documents only, which may be sent in a closed envelope as insured items if the national legislation of the countries of origin and destination permits this;
6.1.2 in uninsured parcels; except where permitted by the national legislation of the countries of origin and destination;
6.1.3 in uninsured parcels exchanged between two countries which admit insured parcels; 6.1.3.1 in addition, any member country or designated operator may prohibit the enclosure of gold bullion in insured or uninsured parcels originating from or addressed to its territory or sent in transit à découvert across its territory; it may limit the actual value of these items.
6.1.3.1 in addition, any member country or designated operator may prohibit the enclosure of gold bullion in insured or uninsured parcels originating from or addressed to its territory or sent in transit à découvert across its territory; it may limit the actual value of these items.
6.1.1 in uninsured letter-post items; 6.1.1.1 however, if the national legislation of the countries of origin and destination permits this, any of the valuable articles mentioned in 6.1 and corresponding to documents only may be sent in a closed envelope as registered items;
6.1.1.1 however, if the national legislation of the countries of origin and destination permits this, any of the valuable articles mentioned in 6.1 and corresponding to documents only may be sent in a closed envelope as registered items;
6.1.1bis in insured letter-post items, except for any of the valuable articles mentioned in 6.1 and corresponding to documents only, which may be sent in a closed envelope as insured items if the national legislation of the countries of origin and destination permits this;
6.1.2 in uninsured parcels; except where permitted by the national legislation of the countries of origin and destination;
6.1.3 in uninsured parcels exchanged between two countries which admit insured parcels; 6.1.3.1 in addition, any member country or designated operator may prohibit the enclosure of gold bullion in insured or uninsured parcels originating from or addressed to its territory or sent in transit à découvert across its territory; it may limit the actual value of these items.
6.1.3.1 in addition, any member country or designated operator may prohibit the enclosure of gold bullion in insured or uninsured parcels originating from or addressed to its territory or sent in transit à découvert across its territory; it may limit the actual value of these items.
7. Printed papers and items for the blind:
7.1 shall not bear any inscription or contain any item of correspondence;
7.2 shall not contain any postage stamp or form of prepayment, whether cancelled or not, or any paper representing a monetary value, except in cases where the item contains as an enclosure a card, envelope or wrapper bearing the printed address of the sender of the item or his agent in the country of posting or destination of the original item, which is prepaid for return.
8. Treatment of items wrongly admitted
8.1 The treatment of items wrongly admitted is set out in the Regulations. However, items containing articles mentioned in 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 3.1 and 3.2 shall in no circumstances be forwarded to their destination, delivered to the addressees or returned to origin. In the case of articles mentioned in 2.1.1 discovered while in transit, such items shall be handled in accordance with the national legislation of the country of transit. In the case of articles mentioned in 3.1 and 3.2 discovered during transport, the relevant designated operator shall be entitled to remove the article from the item and dispose of it. The designated operator may then forward the remainder of the item to its destination, together with information about the disposal of the inadmissible article.