Notification to the Parties

CONCERNING:

Security stamps

1. At its 45th meeting (Paris, France, 19-22 June 2001), the Standing Committee accepted a report from the Secretariat in which it described a new standard of security stamp that has been developed for the use of the Parties.

2. The new stamps maintain the traditional design but incorporate a number of special features that make fraudulent use or forgery extremely difficult. The stamps will be printed on self-adhesive security paper, which is reactive to chemicals and contains visible and invisible security fibres. Parts of the stamp will react to ultraviolet light whilst others will not. Micro-printing and iridescent ink have been used to make ineffective copying or scanning of the stamps. Water-soluble ink has been used for part of the design, which will dissolve if an attempt is made to steam the stamp off a permit or certificate.

3. Full details of the security features will be supplied to Management Authorities on request if it should be necessary to authenticate a stamp but they will otherwise be kept confidential.

4. Each stamp will, as before, bear an individual number but it will no longer include the ISO code for the Party to which it was supplied. Instead, only the Secretariat will know the specific numbers of stamps that have been issued to individual Parties, as an additional security measure.

5. From 1 October 2001, the Secretariat will no longer supply the previous style of stamp, although it is expected that it may take some time for all Parties to use up their current stocks. The new stamps can be ordered from the Secretariat at a cost of CHF 0.30 each, plus delivery. This is double the previous price, which had remained unchanged for almost 20 years. On receipt of orders, the Secretariat will issue an invoice and dispatch the stamps as soon as payment is received. The new stamps will be available for supply at any time and there will be no delay for printing.

6. The new stamps include excellent security features, designed by experts in this field, and the Secretariat encourages the Parties to consider their use.