Commentary on Sections Postal operators generally Section 48: Notification by postal operators
228.Under the new authorisation system established by section 28, postal operators are not required to notify OFCOM prior to providing postal services. However, this section provides that the Secretary of State may make regulations (subject to the negative resolution procedure) requiring them to do so. The Secretary of State must consult OFCOM before making regulations. Regulations may make provisions corresponding to any of the provisions of sections 33 to 37 of the Communications Act 2003.
229.Subsection (4) provides that the maximum penalty that can be imposed by the regulations for failure to comply must not exceed the maximum under section 37(6) of the Communications Act 2003 (currently £10,000).
230.Subsections (5) to (9) provide that if the Secretary of State makes such regulations, OFCOM must establish and maintain a register to record every notification. OFCOM must publish the times when the register can be seen by the public and what fees, if any, must be paid for doing so.