EU Advocate General: Amazon is operating a postal service in Italy without “the necessary authorisation”

Brussels – Amazon may have to be regarded, at least in respect of some of the activities it carries out in Italy, as a postal operator in its own right. This is the opinion of the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Campos Sánchez-Bordona, according to whom certain companies within the group provide “postal services relating to the postal chain” and may therefore be subject to the obligation to “obtain the authorisation required under Italian law”. This position, if upheld by the Court, could affect the organisational models of major e-commerce operators.

The case dates back to 2018, when the Italian Communications Regulatory Authority (AGCOM) imposed fines on Amazon Italia Logistica, Amazon Italia Services, and Amazon Italia Transport for having, according to the Authority, “provided postal services without the necessary authorisation.” The companies challenged the decisions, and the Council of State asked the Court of Justice of the European Union to clarify whether the European Postal Services Directive permits Member States to subject activities, such as those carried out by the Amazon group companies, to authorisation.

In the Opinion submitted to the Court, Advocate General Manuel Campos Sánchez-Bordona considers that the answer is in the affirmative. According to his analysis, Amazon Italia Logistica “handles items that are already of a postal nature,” and the activities of organising and routing parcels “could fall within the sorting phase provided for by the European directive”. As regards Amazon Italia Services, the management of automated lockers “forms part of the final stage of the postal chain.” The Advocate General notes, in fact, that the service does not consist merely of providing a space for the collection of parcels, but includes “active management of delivery and automatic return to the sender should the addressee fail to collect the item within the prescribed time limit.”

Even Amazon Italia Transport, although it does not carry out deliveries, could be classified as a postal service provider. According to the Advocate General, the company “exercises decisive influence over the
conditions under which the service is provided by a local operator which it subcontracts, defining operational procedures and conditions of performance.”

A particularly significant passage in the conclusions concerns the organisation of the Amazon group. The European Directive, the Advocate General observes, allows any operator carrying out one of the ordinary stages of the postal chain to be classified as a postal service provider. In this specific case, the activities of the three companies appear to complement one another to the extent that, taken together, they constitute a postal service.

The Advocate General’s opinion is not binding on the Court of Justice, which will deliver its judgment in the coming months. Thereafter, it will be for the Council of State to rule on the dispute by applying the interpretation provided by the Court. Should the Court confirm the approach proposed by the Advocate General, this would reinforce the principle that even large e-commerce platforms, when they organise delivery activities directly, may be subject to the same rules and authorisation requirements as traditional postal operators.