Court: Competition Authority must reassess 2021 postal service compensation
Tallinn Administrative Court has ruled that the Competition Authority must reassess the compensation to be paid to Eesti Post for providing Estonia's universal postal service in 2021. Previously, the Competition Authority had decided on compensation totaling €1.1 million; Eesti Post, meanwhile, had requested €1.5 million.
In a decision that has not yet entered into force, Tallinn Administrative Court annulled the Competition Authority's October 18, 2023 decision denying the Estonian state-owned company Eesti Post – which operates under the Omniva brand – its May 13, 2022 application for €1.5 million in compensation for providing universal postal services in 2021.
The first-tier court also ordered the authority to reassess the application in question.
This ruling may be appealed to Tallinn Circuit Court no later than September 11.
The Competition Authority has previously stated that it considered €1.1 million to be a justified amount of compensation for providing universal postal services in 2021.
The costs associated with the provision of universal postal services are covered by a dedicated fund established for this purpose, to which all licensed postal operators contribute.
Eesti Post is currently the sole provider of universal postal services. In Estonia, universal postal services include the delivery of letters sent with stamps as well as letters sent to Estonia from abroad via other postal operators.
According to Eesti Post, the total deficit from revenues and expenses related to universal postal services in 2021 amounted to €1.8 million. That year, the company's profits totaled €13.8 million.
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Editor: Huko Aaspõllu, Aili Vahtla
