Dear Mr. POPIN,
We know from the last issueso of this Bulletin that the funds for sending us population publications under the Asia-Pacific POPIN project may be limited in the future. Can we do anything to improve the situation so that we will continue to get ESCAP publications without interruption or delay?
Dear POPIN members:
All of us here appreciate your offer to help us and fortunately there is a way for you to do so that is in keeping with United Nations rules and regulations. Even though the ESCAP Population Divison does not accept payment either for its publications or for their distribution to users, we are permitted to accept UNESCO Coupons or Universal Postal Union coupons to help us defray subscription costs.
Provided below is some information from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization governing the use of UNESCO Coupons, a mechanism which we must indeed use from this year onwards. I'm glad that you brought up this matter on your own. We shall later be in contact by mail with subscribers to inform them of the amounts involved.
In the meantime, here is some useful information to keep on file, especially if your information centre intends to use this method also for cost-recovery purposes. The principle behind UNESCO Coupons is based on the fact that in many countries a shortage of foreign currency hinders the importation of books, publications and scientific material. In some of these countries UNESCO Coupons, whose value is expressed in United States dollars, are sold for national currency to information users such as educators, research workers and students who use the Coupons to pay for their foreign purchases.
The Coupons are issued in the following values: US$1,000, $100, $30, $10, $3 $1; "blank" Coupons, which can be made out by the distributing body for amounts from 1 to 99 U.S. cents, are also available.
Here are some examples of material that can be purchased with UNESCO Coupons: as a general rule, all publications, films and material intended for educational, scientific or cultural purposes can be purchased with UNESCO Coupons.
PUBLICATIONS: Books, school textbooks, periodicals, medical or scientific journals, maps, copies of courses, reproductions of works of art, and sheet music.
MATERIALS:
Where and how can UNESCO coupons be purchased?
In every user country, there is a body responsible for the sale of the Coupons; as a rule, this is the National Commission for UNESCO. This agency supplies information on request, concerning the purchase of the Coupons.
In cases where it has only a limited allocation of Coupons, the agency decides on an order of priority for the various requests received.
How does one use UNESCO coupons?
Users pay for the Coupons in national currency at the official United Nations rate of exchange on the day of purchase. National distributing bodies may add a surcharge to cover handling costs, but this may not exceed 5 per cent of the value of the Coupons.
Coupon users should send the supplier (in this case, ESCAP) their order with the Coupons corresponding to the price of the material, including where necessary, the cost of insurance and postage.
Many publishers, booksellers and firms which produce educational, scientific and cultural material will accept UNESCO Coupons in payment. The distributing bodies can give users some explanations about this.
Coupon users placing orders with firms unfamiliar with the UNESCO Coupons Programme sometimes experience difficulty in getting them honoured. When this happens, they can request assistance from the Coupons Office in the UNESCO Secretariat; the Office will then inform the supplier of the conditions governing the redemption of Coupons and will try to facilitate settlement.
UNESCO cannot intervene in the actual commercial transaction between user and supplier. It is therefore up to the users themselves in their correspondence with suppliers to explain exactly what they want in the way of goods, date of delivery, packaging, insurance and method of dispatch. It is likewise their responsibility to address any complaints direct to suppliers or transporters.
UNESCO Coupons are a means of payment and users should take all the usual precautions to prevent their loss, theft or misuse. In case of loss or theft, please inform the UNESCO Coupons Office immediately of the serial numbers of the missing Coupons. If the missing Coupons have not been presented for redemption within six months, the Coupons Office will replace them.
Where should coupons be sent for redemption?
Suppliers and institutions accepting UNESCO Coupons in payment should send them for redemption directly to the UNESCO Coupons Office, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France, without passing them through any bank or other intermediary.
However, suppliers in countries of North and South America may also send them to the Bankers Trust Co., P.O. Box 318 Church Street Station, New York, NY 10015, United States, and suppliers in Asian countries to the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Yamato Building, 5-3-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102, Japan.
These two organizations are authorized to redeem Coupons under the same conditions as the UNESCO Coupons Office.
What supporting documents are required?
In the case of orders for scientific material or audiovisual equipment, a duplicate of the invoice should always be submitted with the Coupons sent for redemption. In the case of purchases of books and minor school supplies, the invoice is required only for amounts exceeding $1,000.
What are the conditions for the redemption of coupons?
The Coupons, whose value is expressed in U.S. dollars, are redeemed in the supplier's national currency at the official United Nations rate of exchange on the day of presentation. UNESCO, however, deducts a handling fee which is used to cover part of the overhead costs of the Coupons Office. The fee charged is as follows:
Is material purchased with UNESCO Coupons exempt from customs duties?
Some countries exempt material acquired abroad with UNESCO Coupons from customs duties. Supplies can obtain special labels from the Coupons Office which facilitate customs clearance in receiving countries.
If any of you have specific questions on this or other topics, please contact me and I'll try to provide answers through your newsletter, the Asia-Pacific POPIN Bulletin.