The (Postal) Act of 26 January 2018 on postal services and the Royal Decree (hereinafter: ‘the RD’) of 20 December 2018 pertaining to the calculation of the net costs, which constitute the current legal framework, stipulate that bpost, as of 1 January 2019 (as of the 2018 calculation), is required to calculate the net cost of the universal service obligations (‘USO’) and that the BIPT is tasked with the verification thereof.
The RD furthermore stipulates that not only the (costs and revenues of the) universal service (‘US’) must be taken into account, but also the benefits that are not directly measurable by the designated provider, namely the intangible and market benefits (‘IMB’).
These should be quantified and deducted from the calculated US costs.
In this context the BIPT commissioned WIK Consult to conduct a study regarding the intangible and market benefits of the Belgian universal postal service provider.