POST OFFICE GUIDE PART-1

ORGANIZATION :

Our vision

“India Post’s products and services will be the customer’s first choice”

Designation Current heads

Part of the Ministry of Department of Posts

Communications

Minister of Communications Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia

Minister of State for Communications Shri. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani

Secretary of the Department of Posts, Shri. Vandita Kaul

and Chairperson of the Postal
Services Board

Director General of Postal Services Shri Jitendra Gupta

Chief Postmaster General, Shri. Mariamma Thomas

Tamil Nadu Postal
Circle.

MAJOR CHANGES AFTER POST OFFICE REGULATION -2024

DISCONTINUED OLD PRODUCT NEW PRODUCT CHANGES MADE

SERVICE

National Bill Mail Meghdoot Postcard, Post card/Registered Post Letters -Max. Weight limit
Service (NBMS)/ Competition Postcard, card is changes to 500 gms.
Bill Mail Service Printed Postcard, Postcard
(BMS) containing printed
communications

Free Post Service FAMO/EMO/MO MO(Money order) 1. Max-Rs.10000 ;

2. Max remittance to a
person in a month is
Rs.25000
3. Service MO/PM/CM
Relief Fund are free of
charges

Certificate of Book Packets containing Periodical Post Registered newspaper

Posting periodicals has to make atleast one
publication in a week
 Speed Post 1. Speed Post Document
2. Speed Post Parcel

Registered IPO Only denominations ₹ 10,

Pattern & Sample 20, 50 & 100 will be
packet service available

Too Late fee & Registered Parcel India Post Parcel Retail Gyann Post- New Service
Late fee charges
charges Launched on 1st May 2025

Western Union Business Parcel India Post Contractual

Money Transfer

Family MO VPP/ COD VPMO COD Retail/ CODMO

Office 1. For references and enquires - During entire working hours

working 2. All other service - 6 hours
hours
3. Branch Office - 5 hours
4. Business hours of Post Office will be fixed by Head of circle(CPMG) or Head of
Region (PMG) or Head of Division (SSPO/SP)

Other 1. Director General (DG) has the authority to regulate any rules.
Changes 2. Central Government has the authority to intercepted, opened or detained in the
interest of the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign states, public order,
emergency, or public safety or upon the occurrence of any contravention to law

3. The Central Government provide standard of addressing on items through

Postcode. Postcode combination of digits, letters or digital code used to identify a
geographic area or location.

4. The government will not have exclusive privilege over conveying of letters.

Organization:

1. The Department is headed by the Secretary, Department of Posts, and Government of India
who is also the Chairman of the Postal Services Board.

2. Director General Postal Services, is responsible for handling the operations of the Department.

3. India post logo has a new tag line -“Dak Sewa - Jan Sewa “

4. Postal Service board is the apex management body of the Department.

5. Postal Service board consists one chairmen (Secretary, Department of Post) and seven member
namely

6. The Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor to the Department is a permanent invitee to
the Board.

NOTE: FISHTOP

1. Financial services & Chairman PLI Investment Board (FS & PLI)
2. Infrastructure
3. Service Quality & Marketing
4. Human Resource Development (HRD)
 5. Technology
6. Operations
7. Personnel

Member (Personnel )- Shri Manju Kumar Personnel & Staff matters Recruitment &
Promotions Staff Relations ;
Establishment Departmental Examination
Gramin Dak Sevaks Pension, Medical,
Legal
Member (Operations ) - Shri Harpeet Singh Parcel Operations Speed Post & Mail
Operations, Motor Vehicle Citizen
Centric Services, Rural Business & Rural
ICT , Postal Operations & International
Mails.
Member (Technology ) - Shri Subrat Das IT Modernization Project, Technology
Architecture and implementation,
Prevention of Money Laundering Act
(PMLA)
Member (Financial services & Chairman PLI Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) Direct
Investment Board (FS & PLI)) - Shri Neeraj Benefit Transfer (DBT) Matters related to
Kumar India Post Payment Bank Financial
Inclusion NPS & Other Financial Services,
OLI Rules Operations & after sales
service Formulation of Citizen Charter
Norms Core Insurance Solution
implementation Technology related
matters Marketing & Sales Publicity &
Promotion Administration & Investment
of POLIF & RPOLIF Administration &
management of Investment Division,
Investment Division
Member (Infrastructure) - Shri Veena Postal Network Planning &
Ramakrishna Srinivas Rationalization of Post Offices (SOs BOs)
BO infrastructure , Estates, Material
Management Official Language, All staff
matters relating to Civil & Electrical
Wings All construction matters of Civil
and Electrical nature
Member (HRD) - S Anula Kumar Training Postal Training Centres Welfare
and Sports, Capacity building trainings of
Group A & B officers. Training of IPoS
Probationers,
Member (Service Quality & Marketing) - Shri Customer Satisfaction, quality assurance,
Niraj Kumar RTI matters Inspections/visits, reviews
IRs/VRs, Philately, Marketing & Social
Media Publicity and Social Media
operations,
Annual Report e-Book of Information
Collection of postal Statistics & conduct
of enumerations
POSTAL NETWORK AT A GLANCE (As on 31.03.2024)
1 Postal Circles 23
2 Postal Regions 54
3 Postal Divisions 469
4 Postal Accounts Offices 23
5 Circle Stamp Depot 1
6 Postal Store Depots 26
7 Railway Mail Service Divisions 69
8 Postal Training Centres 6

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9 Post Office 1,64,987

A Rural Post Office 1,49,164
Urban Post Office 15,823
b Head Post Office 810
Sub Post Office 24286
Branch Post Office 139891
10 Delivery Post Office 157436
11 Night Post Office 130
12 Sorting Hubs 94
13 Countries covered under International Speed Post 100
(Merchandise &
Documents-both )

14 Countries covered under International Speed Post 6

(documents only)
15 Average person served per Post Office* 8490

16 Average rural person served per Rural Post Office* 6068

17 Average urban person served per Urban Post Office* 31327

18 Average area served by a Post Office (in Sq. Km.) 19.92

PTAL ACADEMY

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Department has 23 postal circles and 1 base circle. 23 postal circles will be
headed by CPMG and 1 base circle which deals with Army Postal Service is headed
Additional Director General who is of the rank of Major General.

S Circle Jurisdiction Head Quarters

L.

N
O

1. Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh and Yanam (APY) Vijaywada -520013

2. North Eastern Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur,

Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland & Tripura

Shillong-793001
(ANT –MMM)

3. Bihar Bihar State Patna-800001

4. Delhi Delhi U.T. New Delhi-110001

5. Gujarat Gujarat ,Union Territory of Daman & Diu Ahmedabad-380001

and Dadra & Nagar Haveli)

6. Jammu & Jammu & Kashmir State, Ladakh Srinagar-190001

Kashmir

7. Kerala Kerala State and Lakshadweep Trivandrum-695033

Islands.

8. Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh State Bhopal-460012

9. Maharashtra Maharashtra State & Goa

Mumbai-400001
(GM)

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10. Karnataka Karnataka State Bangalore-560001

11. Odissa Odisha State Bhubaneshwar-751001

1 Assam Assam Guwahati -781001

2

13. Rajasthan Rajasthan State Jaipur-302007

14. Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu State and

Pondicherry
Chennai-600002

15. Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh State Lucknow-226001

16. West Bengal West Bengal, Andaman and Kolkota -700012

Nicobar Islands and Sikkim

(SAW)

17. Punjab Punjab & Chandigarh Chandigarh - 160017

(PC)

18. Haryana Haryana Ambala -133001

19. Himachal Himachal Pradesh Shimla -171009

Pradesh

20. Telangana Telangana Hyderabad -500001

21. Jharkhand Jharkhand Ranchi -834002

22. Uttar Khand Uttar Khand Dehrandun- 248001

23. Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh Raipur -492001

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INDIA MAP

ARMY POSTAL SERVICES (APS)

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The Army Postal Service (APS), founded in 1856, is a government-operated military

mail system in India, ensuring secure and reliable mail delivery for the Indian
Armed Forces, Border Roads Organization, and Para Military Forces.

Motto: The motto of the APS is "Mel-milap" (Reconciliation or Restoration of

friendly relations ).

Headquarters: The headquarters of the APS is Sena Dak Bhawan, New Delhi.

75% of the staffs are recruited on deputation basis from postal department and
remaining 25% from army directly.

Head of the APS – Additional DG, APS – equal to the status “Major General “in
Defence.

Here's. It has 2 base office namely

1. CBPO -56 APO –DELHI -900056

2. CBPO -99 APO –KOLKATA -900099

APO – Army Post Office.

CBPO – Central Base Post Office.

APS Training Centre in Kamptee Nagpur – Maharashtra

(CBPO - Central Base Post Office; FPO – Field Post Office; APO- Army Post Office)

CBPO: Act as Head Office, PSD and Philatelic Bureaux

FPO : About 500 FPO’S which act as Sub Office.

POSTAL TRAINING CENTRE (PTC)

Postal training centre is used to train staffs of department rules, software, and
soft skills. Rafi Ahmed Kidwai National Postal Academy (RAK NPA), earlier called
as Postal Staff College India (PSCI) is the apex training institution of India Post.

Postal Staff College India (PSCI) was set up in 1977. RAKNPA Located at
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. It was renamed as RAKNPA on 01.11.2011. Head of
RAKNPA is Director.

It was named after the First Minister of Communications of India - Rafi Ahmed
Kidwai. Apart from RAK NPA there are 6 more PTC available in the department.

Sl.no PTC Location

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1. GUWAHATI ASSAM
2. DARBHANGA BIHAR
3. MYSORE KARNATAKA
4. VADODARA GUJARAT
5. SAHARANPUR UTTAR PRADESH
6. MADURAI TAMIL NADU

CEPT- CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE IN POSTAL TECHNOLOGY

CEPT is created to provide software and technological support for the

departmental needs.

Units of Cept Functions

CEPT, Mysore NANYATHA, Electronic Clearance of Letterboxes,
( NAZARBAD)
CEPT, Chennai DPMS & CSI Migration
CEPT, Hyderabad GDS Online Engagement, Tirumala Tirupathi
Devasthanam Special Darshan Ticket Booking &
Shopping

CEPT, Bengaluru AML (Anti Money Laundering ) & FRMU (Fraud

Risk Management Unit )
CEPT, Delhi General Function and support

DCF –Data Centre Facility Act as Primary data centre and disaster recovery
(Navi Mumbai) centre for the DOP
DRC –Disaster Recovery Specialized in recover of lost, corrupt and
Centre (Mysore) inaccessible data.

RETURNED LETTER OFFICE- (RLO)

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It is also known as a "Dead Letter Office" (DLO), is where undeliverable mail,

like letters or parcels, is sent for detention for certain period based on the type of
article and will be disposed off after the detention period

Mail might end up in the RLO/DLO for various reasons, including:

1. Incorrect or incomplete addresses.

2. The recipient has moved and left no forwarding address.
3. The recipient refuses to accept the mail.
4. The mail is deemed non-mailable due to its contents or packaging.

Ordinary unregistered letters are kept for a month, before being destroyed while
registered articles are kept for three months

POSTAL STORE DEPOT – (PSD)

Postal Stores Depot" (PSD) is a functional unit within a postal circle or region
responsible for procuring, storing, and distributing supplies and equipment used by
the postal department, and the head of a PSD is the Superintendent of Postal Stores
Depot (SPSD) .Earlier it was sub categorized as PSD & CSD.

PSD- Postal Store Depot deals with supply of forms and Stationaries

CSD- Circle Stamp Depot deals with supply of Stamps and Certificates.

However Both PSD and CSD were merged as a single unit namely “PSD” on 25 th
August 2020.

Each 23 circle have one PSD at their head Quarters and circle like Maharashtra,
Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh have additional PSD at Nagpur, Madurai and
Aligarh respectively.

Stamps are printed from Government Security Press Nasik, Maharashtra.

Forms are printed from Government Press at Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.

Foreign Post Office:

A “Foreign Post Office” is an office of exchange in which the work

of assessment of customs duty on foreign mails is also carried out.
Although mails may be intercepted (and articles not suspected to
contain anything dutiable released) in many exchange offices, the

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work of actual assessment of duty (and opening of articles for this

purpose where necessary) is done only in the Foreign Post Offices.
Articles received in one office of exchange and suspected to contain
dutiable goods, for delivery from an office nearer another office of
exchange are directed to the latter for actual examination and
assessment of duty.

Sub Foreign Post Office:

A “Sub-Foreign Post Office” is an office which is not an exchange
office (i.e., which does not close bags for other countries and which
does not receive from foreign countries bags addressed it) but in which
the work of customs examination, assessment and accounting of
customs duty is carried out. Such sub-Foreign Post Offices are opened
mainly for the convenience of senders and addressees who may be
required to present documents, etc., for the release or dispatch of
their foreign articles.

Office of Exchange:
(a) A Post Office or Sorting Office or Section which exchanges
mails with offices in foreign countries is known as an “Office of
Exchange”. It is referred to as the dispatching office of exchange
in respect of mails it makes up and addresses to an office of exchange
in another country, while it is called the receiving office of exchange
in respect of mails addressed to it by an office of exchange from
another country. The term “outward office of exchange” and “inward
office of exchange” are also used to describe them. Even offices
functioning as both inward and outward offices of exchange may
function in one of the capacities only for certain countries.

(b) An Office of Exchange on the border which only receives and

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dispatches closed bags addressed to or received from other offices of

exchange in India is known as an “Office of Exchange of transit”. Such
an office will not close bags for foreign countries or open inward foreign
bags. Its function is only to exchange mails with the carrier or with the
officials of a foreign administration.

International Business Centre (IBC)

An "International Business Centre (IBC)" is a type of post office

specifically designated to handle international mail, especially for
businesses. These centers are located in major cities and play a crucial
role in processing international shipments. These centers are
specifically designed to handle large volumes of mail, offering services
like collection, franking, inserting, sealing, and addressing, catering to
the needs of both small and large businesses international mail
customer. It makes direct dispatches to respective Foreign and sub
Foreign Post offices.

Dak Ghar Niryat Kendra

DNK stands for Dak Ghar Niryat Kendra, which translates to

Post Office Export Center. It's a program by the Indian government to
facilitate exports, particularly for small businesses and MSMEs. DNKs
offer online documentation, customs clearance support, and guidance
to exporters. They act as a one-stop destination for export-related
services, including logistics and packing. Exporters can use the DNK
portal to file Postal Bill of Export (PBE) forms online, streamlining the
export process. DNKs provide support and guidance for customs
procedures, making it easier for small exporters to navigate the
process. DNKs are integrated with systems like ICEGATE and ICES,
facilitating smoother data flow and electronic customs clearance. The
DNK initiative aims to promote rural exports by supporting local

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businesses and products.

Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK)

Department of Posts (DoP) and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)

have mutually agreed for leveraging the network of Post Office Passport Seva

Kendras in order to provide passport services to citizens on a larger scale and

to ensure wider area coverage for the benefits of the citizens. The facility has

brought convenience to the general public in making passport services

available in their vicinity through Post Offices and saved citizens from

travelling long distances in order to obtain a Passport. Passport Seva Kendras

at post offices to be increased to 600 by 2028-29

India Post logo

The choices of color’s are Red and Yellow.

Red has been chosen for its traditional association with

the Postal

Service. It embodies passion, power and commitment.

Yellow communicates hope, joy and happiness.

The URL of India post is www.indiapost.gov.in

Pincode:

Postal Index Number or PIN code is a six-digit code used by the Indian postal
system, India Post, to identify and sort mail.

1. The first digit indicates a region or zone.

2. The first two digits represent the postal circle or region

3. The first three digits represent sorting or district

4. The last three digits identify delivery post office.

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POSTAL ZONE :

North –(1,2) ; West –(3,4) ; South -(5,6) ; East- (7,8) ; APS -9

POST OFFICE GUIDE PART-1

In each Circle there are a number of Postal Divisions under the charge
of Senior Superintendents or Superintendents of Post Offices who directly control
the working of all the Post Offices under their jurisdiction. The R.M.S.(Railway Mail
Service) Offices and Sections are similarly controlled by the Senior Superintendents
or Superintendents RMS in each Circle..

Types of Offices –

Post Offices are divided into three classes.

(a) Head Post Offices.

(b) Sub-Post Offices and

(c) Branch Post Offices.

The first two classes of offices normally transact all types of postal business.
Facilities are generally provided at Branch Post Offices for the main items of postal
work like delivery and dispatch of mails, booking of registered articles and parcels
accepting SB deposits and effecting SB withdrawals, and issue and payment of
money orders, though in a restricted manner. So for as the public is concerned, there
is generally no difference in the character of the service rendered by Sub-Post Offices
and Head Post Offices except in regard to a few P.O. Savings Bank transactions.
Certain Post Offices do not undertake all types of postal business..

Note:- The Head Offices in the more important cities are in the charge of
gazetted officers and such Head Offices are referred to as First class Head Ofice,
First Class Head Postmaster, exercise all the powers of a Superintendent of Post
Offices in regard to their own offices. Other Head Offices are headed by Non
gazetted senior time scale post masters.

Note:- Value-payable articles and money orders will not be booked to the
address of Army Post Offices.

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3.Night Post Offices-

(i) The working hours of the post offices are generally fixed by the Head of
the Circle.( As per PO Regulation -2024 , it is now fixed by Head of the Circle or
Head of the Region or Head of the Division)

. However the Director-General may extend the working hours of any post
office up to 8:30 P.M. and keep them open on Sundays also. These post offices will
be termed ‘night post offices’ and will transact those transactions which have been
authorized by the Director-General in this behalf.

(ii) During the extended hours, these post offices will generally book
registered articles including V.P. articles, sell I.P.Os. and postage stamps. Deposits
into Savings Bank Account and sale of cash certificates will be available upto 7.00
p.m. on week days only. Payment of M.Os will also be effected upto 6 p.m.

(iii) On Sundays and National Holidays as well as other P.O. holidays the
night Post Offices function and observe restricted working hours. These offices work
for one shift only from 10:00 to 17.00 hours. The delivery functions of the offices are
entirely suspended as well as the payment of Money Orders and Saving Banks and
post office Certificates are also suspended on these days.

4. Mobile Post offices –

Mobile Post Offices are functioning at Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Madras,

Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kanpur, Poona, Jaipur and Bhilai
Industrial Township. These Mobile Post Offices are intended to provide the facility
of late posting in the different areas of the cities at different timings according to a
fixed schedule (excluding insured and V.P.). “These offices remain closed on
Sundays and Postal Holidays.” The Mobile Post Offices sell stamps and Postal
stationery, book surface and air mail registered articles of the letter mail (excluding
insured and V.P.) and air parcels besides accepting unregistered articles of the letter
mail for dispatch. The mobile Post Offices at Madras and Nagpur are also permitted
to book money orders.

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BUSINESS HOURS

5.Normal week days.- (i) At every Post Office and RMS Office, the hours
during which business is transacted with the public and the times at which mails are
delivered and dispatched are conspicuously notified. The public business hours are
fixed with regard to local convenience and the arrival and departure timings of the
mails and all work at the Post office counters functions precisely at the latest hours
fixed.

(As per PO Regulation -2024)

Sl. No. Work Business Hours

(i) For references and enquiries During the entire working

hours of the office

(ii) Counter services including booking Six hours

and posting of items, premium
collection of insurance premiums

(iii) Money remittance- Electronic Six hours

Money Order, Indian Postal Order
etc.

(iv) Savings Bank Six hours

(1) The Circle Head, Regional Head and Divisional Head are empowered to specify
the period of each of the post offices under their jurisdiction, during which business
is transacted with the public or customer and the time at which items are delivered
and dispatched, keeping in view, the maximum working hours, business hours,
local convenience and the arrival and departure timings of the items and working of
the post office counters.

(2) The Circle Head or Regional Head may, if it is necessary or expedient to meet the
requirement of the public, or in any special circumstances, specify-

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1. The business hours and the days other than the working days including Sundays
and holidays, during which the post offices shall be opened for business; the kind of
transactions available during such business hours; and the maximum number of
items that may be tendered for booking during business hours to meet the rush of
work in a post office and to ensure the equitable availability of facilities to the
public.

7. Business done on Sundays and P.O. holidays

(a) Except the Night Post Offices all post offices Mobile Post Offices are
generally closed on Sundays and PO Holidays and no business transacted with the
public. There is also no clearance of street letter post boxes delivery of mails on such
days.

(b) Machine franked articles should not be posted either in the Post Office
letter box or the mail van letter box.

(c) Registered newspapers and packets of registered news papers are

accepted on Sundays and PO holidays without payment of any late fee in Press
Sorting Offices, R.M.S. offices and at Night Post Offices.

8. Post offices Holidays –

The following holidays are observed as Post Office holidays :-

(1) Republic Day (26th January)

(2) Independence Day (15th August)

(3) Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday (2nd October)

(4) Idul-Zuha (Bakr-Id)

(5) Muharram

(6) Idul-Fitr

(7) Milad un Nabi

(8) Good Friday

(9) Christmas Day

(10) Budha Purnima

(11) Guru Nanak Birthday

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(12) Mahavir Jayanthi

(13) Dussehra

(14) Diwali

In addition the post offices observe holidays on 3 other days which vary
from circle to circle will be based on the Central Government Employees Welfare
Coordination Committee (CGEWCC) decision.

PAYMENT OF POSTAGE

9.Desirability of prepayment of postage –

It is the endeavour of the Post Office to forward by the earliest possible mail
and effect delivery as expeditiously as possible of all fully prepaid postal articles.
Unpaid articles or articles on which the postage is not fully prepaid are not afforded
any greater security in transmission over other unregistered mail. On the other
hand, such articles are liable to detention for the purpose of taxing the postage due
on them. They are, also, not issued along with the special deliveries intended only
for unregistered mails but held over for the general deliveries for all classes of mail.

10. Postage Stamps and Stationery. –

(i) Payment of postage is normally to be effected by means of postage stamps

issued by the Indian Post Office under the authority of the Govt. of India. The Post
Office issues, also, certain items of stationery like envelopes, inland letter cards,
postcards with the value of the requisite stamps embossed on them. If the postage
required on such embossed postal stationery is more than the value of the stamp
printed on the article, the difference can be made good by affixing additional
postage stamps of the requisite value.

NOTE:- Post Offices also, sell Revenue stamps issued by the Central
Government. These stamps cannot be used for payment of postage.

(iii) Postage charges can, also, be paid by means of a proper impression or

impressions of a franking machine.

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(iv) Philatelic Bureaux – In order to cater to the needs of philatelists and

stamp collectors, the department has set up Philatelic Bureaux at the principal Post
Offices at Allahabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bombay, Calcutta,
Chandigarh, Srinagar, Cuttack, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kurnool, Lucknow,
Madras, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, Shillong, Simla, Trivandrum, 1 CBPO C/o 50
APO and 2 CBPO C/o 99 APO. Overseas orders are executed at the Indian Philatelic
Bureau, Bombay G.P.O. Bombay.

11. Franking Machine.-

1. A postal franking machine is a stamping machine intended to stamp impressions

of dies of approved design on private and official postal articles in payment of
postage and postal fees.

Earlier Department used EFM( Electronic Franking Machine ) which consist of value
die and license with red impression and loading process will be manual.

From 01.07.2013 , Department uses RMFS( Remotely Managed Frankling System )

which give blue colour impression

2. Franked Article contains : 2D barcode with frank impression

1.Class of article & Pincode

2. License identifier Number

3. Date of frank

4. Postage value

5. Mail item number

3. At present the following are the authorized dealers in Postal Franking Machines:-

(i) M/s Pitney Bowes India Pvt Ltd.

(ii) M/s Quadient Solution India Pvt Ltd.

They are the OEM- Original Equipment Manufacture authorized by the dept.

4. Only the articles franked through digifrank plus machines (RMFS) are accepted
from private Franking Machine Users (FMU)

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5. A customer or Commercial firm may obtain license from Divisional

Superintendent for using a franking machine and purchase Remotely Managed
Franking Machine from authorized vendor. For Government Department the
licensing authority is Regional Head.

6. He has to pay advance money of minimum Rs. 2,000/- or for the amount of
postage required by him. He franks postal articles in lieu of postage stamps.Amount
of license fee is Rs.375 for the period of five years.When the amount at credit falls
below Rs.100/-, further credits for a minimum of Rs.1000 or higher denomination in
the multiples of Rs.100 should be made by the user.

7. 3% Commission will be given for value franked and 2% additional discount will
be given for presorted article with a threshold limit of Rs.5000.

8. License has to be given in 14 days and renewal has be completed in 5 days. In the
case of decline of applications, refund has to be given in 30days. Renewal
application has to submitted within 30 days of expiry, failing which a penalty of
Rs.100 has to be paid for renewal. If no application has been received after 3 months
of expiry , license will be discarded.

9. Each machine has to call server at least once in 30 days, otherwise machine will be
blocked.

10. Franked articles will be accepted only across the counter at the designated
PO/Mail office. If franked articles are found posted in the Letter Box, they will be
treated as unpaid articles and taxed accordingly.

11. Frank impression has to be made on the right hand top corner of the address side
of article or on a label pasted

12. The franking machine user (FMU) generates frank on articles by placing the
article on the weighing scale and selecting the class of article

13. On completion of franking of all the mail, the FMU prints 2 copies of Statement
of Mailing.

1. FMU pastes one copy of mailing list to customer record book

2. FMU presents his copy of record book, another copy of SOM and articles at
the counter of PO with Window Delivery Ticket. The concern authority will be
update Daily Docket Register accordingly.

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14. PA at the counter can check randomly impression of franks. PA can also scan the
2D barcode of some franked articles to check genuineness before accepting the
articles. Discrepancies, if any need to be reported to the supervisor for further
actions.

15. RMFS article should be presented in only one post office with a maximum of
three times a day. RMFS server will dial DOP server three times a day and exchange
data such as article booked, amount franked and credit balance etc. Unregistered
articles bearing impressions of the previous date shall also not be accepted.

12. Prepayment of postage in cash –

Certain important post offices are authorized by the Head of the Circle to realize the
postage charges in cash from firms or other persons who post a very large number
of unregistered packets subject to a minimum of 500 packets at a time in big cities
and 250 in small towns. Certain post offices in Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Nagpur
and Delhi are also authorized by the Heads of the circle to realize the postage and
registration fee on ordinary registered articles of letter mail in cash provided the
sender uses special registered journals for booking of registered articles and the total
number of articles of the same type and weight to be registered at one time is not
less than 50. Particulars of this facility can be ascertained from the nearest principal
post office. The facility of pre-payment of postage in cash is also available at selected
Gazetted and H.S.G. Post Offices to Firms or business establishments who post not
less than 500 articles at a time in respect of letters (closed covers), Inland Letter
Cards, Post Cards and un-registered parcels. The facility of prepayment of postage
charges in cash is not available for any other classes of postal articles.

13. Spoilt or defaced stamps. –

(1) Postage stamps (whether adhesive, embossed, or impressed) which have been
obliterated, defaced, torn, cut or otherwise rendered imperfect, or which have any
work, letter, figure, or design written printed or impressed upon them otherwise
than by the authority of the Central Government or which have been cut or
otherwise separated from embossed envelopes, postcards, or wrapper, cannot be
recognized in payment of postage. The special registration envelopes provided by
the Post Office, cannot be used for the transmission of unregistered postal articles.

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NOTE – The perforation of postage stamps with initials, or other identifying marks
traced in minute holes is not prohibited, provided they do not render the indications
regarding the country of origin and value of stamps illegible.

(2) The using for the payment of postage or postal fees, with intent to cause loss to
the Central Government, of a stamp that has already been used for that or any other
purpose, is an offence under the Indian Penal Code/Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS
Section- 184).

14. Fictitious Stamps. –

The manufacture and use of fictitious postage stamps for any purpose whatsoever
is prohibited, and is an offence punishable under Section 263-A of the Indian Penal
Code/ Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita(BNS section -186). Reproduction of stamps is,
however, allowed for illustration purposes in a philatelic publication or in an article
or section relating wholly to postage stamps which may appear in a publication or a
general character. Such productions, however, must only be in black.

GENERAL RULES AS TO POSTING

15. Packing. –

(1) Every letter, packet or parcel has to be stamped with the date stamps of at
least two post offices and is liable to a great deal of pressure and friction in the mail
bags during transit. All articles, therefore, which are likely to suffer from stamping
of pressure should be packed in strong covers. The post office cannot take any
special precautions to secure the safety of fragile articles. When wax-cloth is used for
the protection of a parcel, packet or letter, it should be used as an inside cover, or
there should at least be sufficient strong paper securely fastened outside the wax-
cloth to receive the impression of the post office date-stamps, and any postage
stamps which have to be affixed to the article.

(2) Special rules regarding the packing of particular classes of articles are
given in the clauses relating to those articles. These rules are absolute rules, for the
breach of which a penalty is prescribed in each case. However, every letter, packet
or parcel should be closed in such a manner that it does not give rise to sharp edges
which may expose officials to injury, damage correspondence or hinder postal
operations.

16. Sealing –

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The public are advised not to use sealing wax for seals outside unregistered
letters and packets, except when such seals are necessary for the protection of the
articles to which they are applied. When sealing wax is used for seals outside
unregistered letters and packets, a piece of tissue or other thin paper should be laid
on the wax before the seal is applied, as otherwise both the articles themselves and
those with which they come in contract in transit are liable to injury from the sealing
wax adhering to other articles. The precaution recommended is especially necessary
in the case of articles for foreign countries, which have for several days to pass
through very hot climates.

17. Posting of coints etc. – Coin, bullion, precious stones, jewellery, articles of gold
or silver and currency or Bank Notes, can be sent by the Inland Post, only insured.
By sending articles of value in unregistered letters or unregistered parcels, the
senders not only ran the risk of losing their property but also expose to temptation
every person through whose hands the articles pass.

Maximum Insurance amount

Currency notes –Rs.20000 : Jewellery and Precious item Articles –Rs.100000

EXPLANATION :- In this rule, the expression “articles of gold or silver” includes

articles made wholly or partly of gold or silver, but not coins and electro or other
plated goods. The expression “Coin” does not include cut counterfeit coins remitted
on behalf of the Currency Departments and Mints.

The expression “Currency Notes” does not include defaced notes (i.e. notes from
which the signature has been cut off after cancellation), remitted on behalf of the
Currency Department.

The expression “jewellery” includes watches the cases of which are entirely or
mainly composed of gold, silver or platinum.

18. Letter Boxes –

Letters, postcards, inland letter cards & packets may be posted in the
letter-boxes in the post offices / mail offices, installed in public places, in mobile post
offices and steamers provided the postage due and late-fee prescribed for the
purposes are fully prepaid. Machine franked articles should not be posted in these
letter boxes.

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19. Posting in Special Letter Boxes –

Letter Boxes marked ‘For letters only’ should be used for the posting
only of letters and postcards. Similarly, the special letter boxes provided in the cities
for posting of Air Mail Articles QMS articles be used only for posting such classes of
articles. Other articles if posted in such special letter-boxes, are liable to detention.
QMS articles should bear full PIN below the name of the town of destination.

20. Presentation of large official and other letters in bulk at the window of the van
or Post Office –

Large official or other letters, which owing to their size, cannot be posted in
the letter-boxes, may be received by hand at the window of the van or post office.
There is also no objection to receiving at the window of the van or office, letters or
packets posted in bulk provided, the postage and the late fee, if any, are fully
prepaid.

21. Articles requiring special treatment.

(1) Letters or other articles intended to be registered or insured, articles

intended to be sent as “value-payable”, or with regard to which “certificates of
posting” are required, must be presented at the post office at least half an hour
before the time fixed for the closing of any particular mail, if it is intended that they
should be forwarded by that mail. Such articles should be clearly marked at
“Registered” “insured for Rs ___” “value-payable for Rs ……..” etc. at the top of the
address side of the cover;

(2) Air Mail articles bearing high value adhesive postage stamps may be
presented at the counters of Post Offices or Mail Offices for the stamps to be defaced
in the presence of the person presenting the articles before the articles are sent for
onward transmission.

22. Desirability of posting early-

If articles are posted just at the time the mails are due to be dispatched there
is heavy congestion in Post Offices and R.M.S. Offices and there is likelihood of
detention and delay. The public are, therefore, advised to post their mails as and
when they are ready without waiting for the last clearance of mails from the Post
Office and to endeavour to post as early in the day as possible.

23. Manner of affixing postage stamps –

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Stamps affixed to a letter or packet must be completely adherent to the article

itself and not to any part of its contents or any separate label or other device tied or
attached to the article. The stamps should be affixed to the right hand top corner of
the address side.

24. Non-Postal Stamps charity Stamps, labels, seals, etc. –

Labels, stamps, seals or other markings which are not postage stamps but
which are likely to be mistaken for postage stamps should not be attached or
impressed to the address side of postal article. This prohibition applies equally in
cases in which any labels, stamps, or markings are attached or impressed to the
address side of a postal article in such a manner that it becomes difficult to decipher
the address, or hampers the work of the postal officials in any way. Impressions
which are likely to be mistaken for impressions of postal franking machine must also
not be made on the address side.

25. Use of the minimum number of postage stamps. –

The public are advised to use the minimum number of stamps while
prepaying postage charges by using stamps of the appropriate higher
denominations. The use of a large number of low-value stamps takes up
unnecessary space on the postal articles, leaving less room for the address and other
indications. It also, increases the work of the Post Office staff and entails waste of
valuable stamp paper and printing charges.

METHOD OF ADDRESS

26. Particulars to be furnished –

(As Per PO Regulation 2024)

(1) An item shall not have more than one delivery address;

Provided that nothing in this sub-regulation shall prevent the delivery of an item to
another address as may be specified by administrative instructions from time to
time.

(2) The address, either handwritten or machine printed, shall contain such
elements and, in such order, as given below: -

Name

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C/o, D/o, S/o, W/o, H/o

Mobile Number (optional)

House/ Building (including floor)/ Apartment (including floor)

Street /Road /Lane

Landmark

Area / Locality/ Sector Village/ Town/City

Post Office District State

PIN code/ Postcode

(3) The address of the addressee shall be written in the centre of the front
side and address of the sender shall be written on the lower left of the
front side of an envelope.

(4) Address of the addressee and the sender should be started from the
words “To” and “From”, respectively.

(5) Blank space of minimum 15mm shall be kept from left, bottom and
right side of envelope and the address block of addressee shall have
minimum gap of 40 mm from top.

(6) Stamps or Frank impressions shall be affixed in maximum area of 74

mm on the upper right corner.

(7) The address of addressee and sender should be positioned parallel to

the length of the envelope.

(8) A zone of 10mm around the address block should be free from any
printing or writing.

(9) Non-address information such as sender's code, serial or account

numbers or other information are not to be generally included in the
address of the addressee and if necessary, it should be printed above
the first line but never below the last line of the address.

(10) The spacing between the address lines shall be uniform and be
more than 1mm and less than 5mm.

(11) The maximum number of characters per line is 40 characters,

excluding spaces between words.
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(12) An accountable item tendered at a post office for transmission

shall not be accepted unless they are addressed to a particular person
or firm or institution.

(13) Such items addressed to a particular person or firm, care of post

box and the name of the office where the post box is located shall also
be accepted, provided they are addressed to persons or firms in whose
names the post box stands registered;

Provided that in the office of delivery, if it is found that there is no post box in the
name of the addressee, or the addressee has ceased to be a renter of a post box, the
item shall be returned to the sender.

Exemption in method of addressing of an item in certain

cases.- Item(s) addressed to such authorities and with specified
superscription on the envelope, tendered at a post office, shall be
accepted for transmission without the name and complete
address of the sender as may be specified by administrative
instructions from time to time.

1. Standards for addressing on international items.-

(1) An item shall not have more than one delivery address:

Provided that nothing in this sub-regulation shall prevent the delivery of an item to
another address as may be specified by administrative instructions from time to
time.

(2) The address, either handwritten or machine printed, shall be worded

in a precise, complete and legible manner to ensure the easy
transmission of the item and its delivery at the country or territory of
destination to the addressee.

(3) The address of the sender and the addressee must be written in roman
letters and in Arabic numerals, and wherever required, the address of
the addressee may also be written in the language of country or
territory of destination.

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(4) The name of the place of destination and the country or territory of
destination shall be written in capital letters together with the correct
postcode number or delivery zone number, whichever applicable.

(5) The address of the sender and addressee shall contain such elements,
whichever applicable, and, in such order, as given below, unless
otherwise specified: -

Name

Mobile Number (optional)

Building (door, floor, stairwell, wing, building, distinct instances)

Street (street name/number/type, primary thorough fare, secondary thorough

fare)

PO Box

Post Office City/town/Rural Area

Administrative Areas (region level)

Postcode

Country/Territory

(6) The address of the addressee shall be written on right of front side and
address of the sender shall be written on lower left of front side on an
envelope.

(7) The address of the addressee and the sender should be started from
the words “To” and “From”, respectively.

(8) Blank space of minimum 15mm shall be kept from left, bottom and
right side of envelope and the address block of addressee shall have
minimum gap of 40 mm from top. Stamps or Frank impressions shall
be affixed in maximum area of 74 mm on the upper right corner.

(9) A zone of 10mm around the address block should be free from any
printing or writing.

(10) Non-address information such as sender's code, serial or

account numbers or other information are not to be generally included
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in the address of the addressee and if necessary, it should be printed

above the first line but never below the last line of the address.

(11) The spacing between the address lines shall be uniform and be
more than 1mm and less than 5mm.

(12) The maximum number of characters per line is 40 characters,

excluding spaces between words.

27.Mails for Defence Services Personnel serving in the Army and Air Force –

The following particulars should always be furnished in the address in the

case of mails for the personnel of the Defence Services serving in the Army and Air
Force, which are to be delivered through Army Post Offices: -

No.

Rank

Name

Unit

Such mails should be addressed to 56 A.P.O., 99 A.P.O, etc. without the addition of
any post town.

28. Mails for Navy Personnel serving in INS Ships –

Mail for Navy Personnel on board I.N.S. ships should be addressed c/o the
Fleet Mail Office, Bombay. The No., rank and other particulars of the addressee, as
well as the name of the ship, should be indicated.

29. Articles bearing indefinite addresses –

(1) No article will be delivered by the Post Office unless it bears a definite
address. Articles addressed in a general way, i.e., address to a class of persons in
contradiction to a particular person or firm and articles addressed to initials or
figures or to clearly fictitious names, or to a Christian name without a surname, are
regarded as not bearing a definite address unless they are to the care of some
definite person or firm, or unless the address specifies some definite place or
delivery such as a particular house or a particular post box or a particular No. in a
street. Articles addressed in a general way or to initials figures. Christian names

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without surnames, fictitious names or conventional marks of any kind will not be
delivered if addressed merely to a post office or “Poste Restante” or to the care of a
postmaster.

The following are examples of definite and indefinite addresses :-

Definite and therefore Deliverable Indefinite and therefore undeliverable

Indefinite and therefore undeliverable
(a) The Chief Secretary to the Govt. of (a) Chief Secretary, Shimla
H.P.
Ellerelie Simla
(b) The Occupant No. 10 Park Street, (b) The non-commissioned Officer
Calcutta Meerut.
700016.
(c) The President of the Officers’ Mess, (c) The President of the Officer’s Mess
Mathura. (This would be a definite Delhi.
address as there is only one Officers’ (This address would be indefinite as
Mess at Mathura). Delhi has several Officer’s Messes).
(d) E-97 Pioneer Press, Lucknow. (d) The Station Master Lalpur, C.R.
(This address could be definite because
the Post office
of destination is not given).
(e) Invester No. 2 Victoria Gardens,
Bombay
400027.

(3) Parcels or other articles tendered at a post office for transmission under the
Registration, Insurance, or Value-payable system, as also Money Order, will not be
accepted unless they are definitely addressed to a particular person or firm. Such
articles addressed to a particular person or firm care of post box and the name of the
office where post box stands registered will also be accepted provided they are
addressed to persons or firms in whose names the post box stands registered. In the
office of delivery if it is found that there is no post box in the name of the addressee
or the addressee has ceased to be a renter of a post box the article will be returned to
the sender.
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30. Addition of sender’s address. –

Every article should bear on the bottom lower left hand corner the name and
address of the sender including PIN in order that the post office may be able in case
of non-delivery, to return it unopened and without delay. This is specially desirable
in the case of registered articles (whether letters or parcels) and unregistered parcels.
A large number of undelivered articles is destroyed every year at the various
Returned Letter Offices, because they contain no clue, outside or inside to the
whereabouts of the senders. It is also suggested that in the case of photographs sent
by packet post the name and address of the sender should always be written on the
back of the photograph.

31. Intimation of address to correspondents abroad. – The public are advised when
furnishing their address to correspondents abroad, to mention the name of State in
India in which they reside.

55. Post Boxes. –

TABLE IX

Post Box and Post Bag

(a) Post Boxes or Bags if taken separately

(i) If rented for full financial year 150

(ii) For three calender months or part thereof, if rented for a period 50

of less than a full financial year

(b) Post Box and Bag combined together with the same or different number

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(i) If rented for full financial year 250

(ii) For three calender months or part thereof, if rented for a period 80

of less than a full financial year

55. Post Boxes. –

Post Boxes are available on rent at certain Post offices as may be determined in this
behalf by the Head of Circle under the following conditions: -

(1) (a) Only fully prepaid unregistered articles of the letter mail, namely letters,
inland letter cards, postcards, aerogrammes, registered newspapers, books, of the
post bearing the Post Box No. are delivered through post box. Articles addressed to
other person or firms c/o Post Box Nos. are not delivered through the post box
except in the following cases: - (i) articles addressed to legitimate personnel of a firm
renting a post box;

(ii) articles addressed to family members and guests of the renter;

(iii) articles addressed towards, trainees or inmates of an institution

controlled by a recognized and known authority ;

(iv) articles addressed to casual visitors and commercial representatives

staying with the renter.

(b) The renter if he so desires, can get delivery of the postal articles addressed to
other allied concerns of which he happens to be the proprietor or agent through the
same post box on payment of a separate fee in respect of each such concern and
subject otherwise to the same terms and conditions, as are applicable to delivery of
the postal articles addressed to the renter with the Post Box No.

(c) Registered, insured, V.P. articles as also money orders addressed payable to
the particular person or firm in whose name the post box stands registered will be
delivered/paid through the postman, so long the person/firm rents the Post Box. If it
is found that there is no Post Box in the name of the addressee/payee, or the
addressee, has ceased to be a renter of the Post Box, the article will be returned to the
sender/remitter.

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(2) Any person (including a firm or other body) who desires to avail himself of the
facility of having his mail delivered through a post box (hereinafter referred to as
‘the renter’) should submit an application in writing in the form prescribed for the
purpose to the Postmaster concerned.

(3) The applicant should specifically state in the application the exact nature of the
business which should be duly certified by two respectable gentlemen not connected
with him in any way and furnish full particulars of his business address. This will
not be insisted upon in case of Government and semi-Government institutions and
such private parties as are either known to the Postmaster or have otherwise
established their identity to the satisfaction of the Postmaster. The Post Office
reserves the right to withdraw the post box without notice or without any reason
being assigned, if any information furnished by the applicant is found to be
incorrect, or if it is found that the Post Box is being misused by the renter.

(4) In the event of renter of a post box changing his business address or shifting his
office to another place, he should invariably inform the Postmaster of the change
within seven days of such change. In the event of his failure to do so or of his
furnishing wrong information in this regard the post box is liable to be withdrawn
without notice or without any reason being assigned.

(5) No renter is entitled to demand that a post box of any particular number or a
post box in any particular row or position should be allotted to him.

(6) (i) The prescribed rent is to be paid in advance along with the application for
renting a post box or for renewal thereof.

(ii) No renter is entitled to claim a refund of the whole or any part of the rent
paid by him in respect of the allotment of a post box. If any claim in writing for such
refund reaches the Postmaster before he makes such allotment, he may admit such
claim in whole or in part.

(iii) where rent is paid in respect of any post box, it cannot be adjusted in whole
or in part against the rent or deposit due in respect of any other post box.

(7) (i) The prescribed deposit is to be paid on the allotment of a post box and before
the key of the box is made over to the renter and except in the cases referred to in
items (iii), (iv) and (v) of this condition is payable only at the time a post box is
rented for the first time.

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(ii) A deposit in respect of a post box cannot be adjusted in whole or in part

against the deposit or the rent due in respect of any other post box.

(iii) If at any time during the period of rental, the key of the lock or lock is lost by
the renter, or the key or the lock or both are not in working condition, it will be
obligatory on the part of the renter to bring the matter immediately to the notice of
the postmaster and to credit the cost of both the lock and key in case both the lock
and key or only the lock is lost or damaged or the cost of the key only in case the key
is lost or damaged, failing which the deposit made by him shall be forfeited. On the
crediting of the cost by the renter, he shall be supplied with a new lock and key or
key as the case may be, by the Postmaster. In addition to the cost of the key or both
the lock and key, as the case may be, the renter will have to pay postage charge s, if
any, and the money order commission charges for remittance to the amount
representing the cost of the key or both the lock and key, as the case may be, the
renter will have to pay postage charges, if any, and the money order commission
charges for remittance to the amount representing the cost of the key or both the
lock and key to the suppliers, if the supplying firm or a branch thereof is not at the
same station.

NOTE 1 : Failure to intimate the loss or damage will entail cancellation of the
allotment of the post box.

NOTE 2 : In case of loss of or damage to the key, the renter, as a security measure,
may, if he so desires, deposit the cost of both the lock and key, in which case a new
lock and key will be supplied to him.

(iv) If the lock and key are not surrendered by the renter to the Postmaster before
15 days of the expiry of the period of rent or the renting of the box is not renewed
within the aforesaid period, the deposit will be forfeited.

(v) If the renter does not notify to the Postmaster his intention not to renew the
rental of the Post Box, before the expiry of the rental period but surrenders to him
the lock and the key within fifteen days of such expiry he may e granted a refund of
the portion of the deposit representing the cost of the lock and key.

(8) No application for the renewal of the rental of a post box is entertained unless it
reaches the Postmaster concerned before the expiry of the period for which rent has
already been paid in advance; provided that an application received within 15 days
after the expiry of the period accompanied the amount representing the rental for a

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further period may be entertained if the applicant satisfies the Postmaster that he
had sufficient cause of not making the application before the expiry of the said
period or that the application reached the Postmaster late on account of
circumstances beyond his control; provided the particular Post Box is still available
to be allotted to him. If not available, his application will be considered as a fresh
one for allotment of any Post Box that may be available at the time.

(9) The period of rental of a post box commences from the first day of month in
which the post box is allotted and the period of renewal of rental commences from
the first day of the month immediately succeeding the period of previous rental.

(10) When the Postmaster allots a post box to a renter, the latter is supplied with a
delivery ticket which will be produced by him or his messenger on demand. The
ticket bears the same number as that allotted to the post box and is not transferable.

(11) It is open to the renter to clear his post box at any time during the business
hours of the post office provided that the Postmaster may prohibit the clearance of
the post box for any period not exceeding half an hour before each delivery for the
purpose of facilitating the sorting of mails.

(12) For ensuring correct delivery the renter should arrange – (a) that all letters for
delivery through, the post box are addressed to him in the following manner, the
full postal address also appearing as far as possible :-

A. B. C. Renter

Post Box No………………….

Post office of Delivery…………………..

Postal Index Number (PIN) ……………………

(b) that he has a postal address in the delivery zone of the particular post office
where he has rented a post box.

NOTE :- In towns where there is more than one delivery office and the Post Box
facilities are not available in all delivery office Post Box may be rented in any post
office where such facilities may be available irrespective of the consideration of the
delivery jurisdiction. If and when Post Box facilities are provided subsequently at
other offices the holders of Post Box facilities will have the option to shift the Post
Box facilities provided in their own delivery jurisdiction.

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(13) The renter will not have any right to get delivery through the post box of any
article addressed to him without the Post Box No.

(14) (i) Where any postal article addressed to a post box number cannot, in view of
its size or for want of space in the box, be placed therein, the Postmaster will arrange
an intimation slip to this effect to be placed in the post box and the article will be
kept in the delivery department.

(ii) On the renter or his messenger presenting the intimation slip together with
the delivery ticket, the article may be handed over to him.

(15) When a renter is unable to clear his post box on account of the loss of the key or
otherwise, postal articles addressed to the post box will be delivered to him or his
messenger at the counter only during the hours prescribed for window delivery on
the presentation of the delivery ticket, provided the allotment of the post box has not
been cancelled under Note 1 of condition (7).

(16) If the renter of a post box does not clear it for a week, a notice requiring him to
clear it for a week, a notice requiring him to clear it, will be sent by the Postmaster
by registered post; and when the articles are not cleared even after this notice, they
will be delivered through the postman if the postal articles bear the address of the
renter or he has given instructions to this effect. If for any reasons the articles cannot
be delivered through the postman in the normal manner, they will be treated as
undeliverable and disposed of in the manner prescribed for such articles.

NOTE : Failure to clear the Post Box, necessitating the issue of registered notices too
often or requiring the Post Office too often to redirect the articles addressed to the
Post Box, will amount to misuse of the Post Box within the meaning of sub-clause
(4).

(17) When a post box is no longer required by a renter, he is required to surrender

the lock and key to the Postmaster and the latter thereafter will arrange to refund to
him the deposit or such portion of it as may be admissible under item (iv) or (v) of
condition (7). No refund will be granted if the lock and key at the time of surrender
are not in working conditions.

(18) The post box holders who receive a large quantity of mail which cannot be
conveniently put into the post box may rent an additional post box on the same
terms and conditions but with the same post box number so that the entire mail may

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be placed inside post box instead of keeping a portion of the mail under or above or
away from the Post Box cabinet.

56. Post Bags. –

(1) The system of delivery of Postal articles in a bag, which along with a lock and
duplicate key is to be supplied by the renter, is available at all delivery post offices,
whether post box system is available there or not.

(2) The foregoing provisions relating to the renting of post boxes apply mutates
mutandis to the renting of post bags also except in the following respects :-

(a) locked post bags with the postal articles placed inside the bag is handed over to
the renter or his messenger over the counter on the production of the delivery ticket
during the hours prescribed for making window delivery ;

(b) these bags with the exception of those rental in combination with post box same
number may be used by the renter for dispatching to the post office fully prepaid
unregistered letters, postcards, inland letter cards, newspapers and packets for
posting.

116.Duties of letter-box attendants.—

Letter-box attendants are required to know the hours at which the letter-boxes in
their beats are cleared and at which mails are despatched from, and delivered at the
post office. It is their duty punctually to clear the letter-boxes in their beats, and also
to bring to the postmaster's notice any damage to, or defect in, any letter-box that
may be observed by them.

117.Clearance of outside letter-boxes.—

(1)When a letter-box attendant is about to proceed on his rounds, the postmaster

or responsible Assistant should make over to him the keys of letter-boxes the
changeable hour plates (when letter-boxes are provided with these plates) and a bag
in which to place articles found in the letter-boxes. After the last letter-box has been
cleared, the attendant must return without delay to the post office where the
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postmaster or responsible attendant will receive from him the keys of letter-boxes,
the hour plates and the bag. The keys of the letter boxes and the hour-plates must be
kept in the custody of the postmaster or responsible Assistant and never given out to
the letter-box attendants except at the hours fixed for them to leave the post office
for the purpose of clearing the letter-boxes.

(2) Electronic clearances of letter boxes and their prompt monitoring is done
through Nanyatha software. This application helps in uploading the data about the
location of letter boxes, date, time of clearance, number of letters and the person
who has cleared the letter box.

(3) LB attendant after opening the letter box has to scan the barcode through the
handset by using installed android application. The barcode stickers are affixed
inside the LB doors to ensure that the scanning happens only when the letter box is
opened. After scanning the barcode, the LB attendant using the android application
should type the number of letters cleared in that letter box. The details of LB, time of
clearance and number of letters cleared in that letter box will be sent to central
server through GPRS facility. The central server validates the GPS coordinates of the
letter box and updates the date, time of clearance, number of letters cleared and
generates MIS respectively.

118. Employment of letter-box attendants to carry mails.—Letter box attendants

employed in post offices that have town sub or branch offices attached to them may
be employed in addition to their other duties, in conveying mails to and from the
town sub or branch offices. Their services may also be utilised as packers.

147. Packing. –

(1) A parcel be packed and enclosed in a reasonably strong case wrapper, or cover
fastened in a manner calculated to preserve the contents from loss or damage in the
post, to prevent any tampering therewith, and to protect other postal articles from
being damaged in any way thereby.

If a parcel contains cloth or woolen material it must be packed in a strong wrapper

with an outer covering of stout cardboard or cloth. Parcels containing articles of
great value like gold, bullion, jewellery and the like, must be packed in a metal

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container or a wooden or a stout cardboard case according to the nature of the

article.

(2) Liquids and substances which liquefy easily must be despatched in a double
receptacle. Between the first receptacle (bottle, flask, box, etc.), and the second
(which must be a box of metal or strong wood) some space must be left to be filled
with saw-dust, bran or some other absorbing material in sufficient quantity to
absorb all the liquid contents in the event of breakage.

(3) Live-bees must be enclosed in suitable cases and so packed as to prevent all
risk of injury to other postal articles in course of transmission by post or to officers of
the Post Office.

148. Human and other viscera. – Human and other viscera may be transmitted by
the Inland post to Chemical Examiners for analysis. Brains of rabid animals may also
be transmitted by post to authorized laboratories when sent by persons holding
veterinary or medical qualifications. The following conditions apply in each case :-

(a) The suspected viscus or other material to be sent for examination must be
enclosed in a glass bottle or jar, fitted with a topper or soundcork.

(b) Great care must be taken that the stopper or cork of the bottle fits tightly. This
precaution is especially necessary when alcohol is used as a preservative; in such
cases a ring of bees wax or candle-wax must be placed round the lip of the bottle so
as to cover the shoulder of the stopper. The stopper must be carefully fastened down
with bladder or leather and sealed.

(c) The glass bottle or jar must then be placed in a strong wooden or tin box,
which must be large enough to allow of a layer of raw cotton at least eighteen milli-
metres thick, being placed between the bottle or jar and the box.

(d) The box itself must be encased in cloth, which must be securely closed and
sealed. The seals must be at intervals not exceeding three inches along each seam.
All the seals must be of the same kind of wax and must bear distinct impressions of

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the same device. The device must not be that of a current coin or merely a series of
straight curved or crossed lines.

149. Plague culture, & Anthrax Spore Vaccine.- (1) Cultures or other articles
known or believed to contain the living germs of plague may be transmitted by the
inland post, subject to the following conditions :-

(a) Such cultures or other articles aforesaid must not be accepted for
transmission, unless they are sent by a Commission Medical Officer, a Military
Assistant surgeon or a Medical Practitioner in possession of a qualification not lower
than that of L.M.S. of the University of Calcutta, Punjab, Madras or Bombay, or by a
person specially permitted by the Central Government or a State Government to
send such cultures or other articles, not unless they are consigned to a Government
Laboratory or to a person specially permitted by the Central Government or a State
Gove rnment to receive such cultures or other articles.

(b) The cultures or other articles aforesaid must be securely packed in a

hermetically closed tin of adequate strength, which must be placed in a strong box of
wood or with a layer of at least eighteen millimeters of raw cotton-wool between the
inner and outer case.

(c) The outer case must be enclosed in stout cloth, which must be securely
fastened and sealed and labeled with such distinguishing inscription as will suffice
to make immediately manifest the nature of the contents.

(d) The sender must present the parcel at the post office accompanied by a
declaration as to the nature of its contents, and a certificate signed by himself to the
effect that he has advised the addressee of its dispatch and that such addressee, if
the parcel should not be addressed to a Government Laboratory, has been specially
permitted by the Central Government or a State Government to receive such
cultures or other articles. The certificate, moreover, must show on its face that the
sender is a person authorized within the meaning of condition (a) to send such
cultures or other articles.

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(2) Bottles of anthrax spore vaccine may also be transmitted by post by laboratories
permitted by the Central or State Governments to dispatch or receive such articles
and on conditions prescribed in (b), (c) and (d) above.

150. Tuberculosis Sputum. – Infectious tuberculosis sputum may be transmitted

by post subject to the following conditions :-

(1) That sputa samples and other tuberculosis material is consigned to a

laboratory or institution or a person specially permitted by the Government to
receive such materials.

(2) That the material is contained in spill proof glass, metal or wax paper
containers which are securely packed in a tin or wooden box of adequate strength
with a layer of raw cotton wood of 3/4" to an inch thickness between the box and the
containers. The box should be properly sealed.

(3) The box must be enclosed in a stout cloth bag which should be properly
fastened, sealed and labeled with such distinguishing inscriptions as to make the
nature of the contents manifest.

151. Strong Smelling Articles. – Strong smelling articles (e.g., asafetida) must be
enclosed in a hermetically sealed case of tin or other metal.

152. (1) Celluloid inflammable films raw or manufactured celluloid shall be

packed in a double receptacle. Such articles shall first be closed, in the case of films,
in a heremetically sealed box of tin and, in the case of celluloid or articles made
wholly or partly of celluloid, in a box of tin, cardboard or wood, the vacant space
being completely filled to prevent any movement of the contents. This box shall then
be wrapped completely all round with padding material in sufficient quantity and
placed inside a wooden box, made of planks not less than 10 mm. (3/8 of an inch)
thickness, the sides of which shall be dovetailed, the base and the lid being solidly
screwed to the sides, any intervening space being completely filled with additional

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packing material so as to hold the inner receptacle tightly in position and to prevent
any rattle. A white label bearing in heavy black characters the indication “Celluloid
keep away from fire and light” shall be affixed to the address side of the parcel.

(2) In the case of non-inflammable or “Safety” cinematograph films, a white label

bearing the words “Safety films – non- inflammable” in plain black letters must be
affixed to the outside of each parcel. The provision relating to packing of
inflammable films etc., prescribed in sub-clause

(1) above will not apply to the packing of non- inflammable films.

153. Osmic Acid. – Osmic acid (Osmium tetroxide) may be transmitted by the
Inland Post subject to the following conditions :-

(a) The acid must be securely packed in a hermetically sealed stout glass capsule
which should be embedded in the centre of a tin case filled with sand in such a
manner as to leave a layer of sand of not less than 4.3 centimetres between any part
of the glass capsule and the inside of the tin case.

(b) The outside of the tin case be labeled in red letters one quarter of an inch high
“OSMIC ACID DANGEROUS TO HANDLE”.

(c) The tin case must be soldered down and placed in an outer box of wood of
reasonable strength with a layer of at least 2.5 centimetres of raw cotton wool
between the inner tin case and the outer wooden box.

(d) The outside of the wooden box should also be labeled in red letters “OSMIC
ACID”.

(e) The quantity of the acid enclosed in a capsule must not exceed two grams and
not more than one capsule should be included in a parcel.

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154. Perfumes. – Perfumes though a spirituous preparation having in some cases a

flash point of 35.6 C (96 F) or below and a greater strength than 60 U.P may be
transmitted by the Inland Post subject to the following conditions: -

(a) The perfume must be filled in a glass bottle which should be plugged and
capsuled. The glass bottle should then be packed in a cardboard box with cushion
inside.

(b) The cardboard box must be wrapped with strong paper placed in an outer
wooden box with corrugated paper and shavings.

(c) The outside of the wooden box should also be labelled in red letters
“perfumes – keep away from fire”.

SECTION – III

OFFICIAL POSTAL ARTICLES

198. Conditions.-

Official Postal articles will be transmitted by post under the following

conditions:-

(a) The rates of postage and conditions of transmission by post hereinbefore

prescribed for the different classes of non-official postal articles and the rules under
which such articles be registered, insured, or sent value-payable are applicable also
to official postal articles of the same classes.

EXCEPTION :

The conditions laid down in clause 145 that a parcel shall not contain more than
one written communication of the nature of a letter or having the character of a
personal communication shall not apply to an official parcel which contains office
files provided that no one file shall contain more than one communication of such
nature of having such character which was not contained therein when the file was
received in the office from which it is being dispatched.

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NOTE :

Office files containing notes and orders or draft letters and fair copies exchanged
between Government Officer and his office may be sent by post as letters, packets or
parcels at the option of the sender.

(b) Official postal articles, whether the postage is prepaid or not, must bear the
superscription “On India Government service” when posted by Government
Officials authorized to use service postage stamps or “On Service” when posted by
all others authorized to use service postage stamps. This superscription must be
supported by the signature and official designation to be entered in the lower left-
hand corner other article of the officer who sends the article, or of the Head Clerk or
Superintendent of his office or other responsible officer to whom the duty of
dispatching is assigned.

EXPLANATION 1: As the postage stamp embossed on service postcards bear the

inscription “Service”, the superscription referred to in sub-clause (b) above is not
required on such postcards.

EXPLANATION 2: Postmasters may recognize abbreviated designations provided

they are generally known but no official can claim the recognition of an
abbreviation, the rule being that the designation shall be entered in full.

EXPLANATION 3: Postmasters may recognize facsimile impressions of signatures

made by means of stamps, but not such impressions when the graphic or otherwise
produced. Public Officers who use such stamps must make arrangements for their
proper custody and use; and where there is any reason to suspect the misuse of any
stamp or the absence of proper precautions against this misuse, postmasters may
decline to recognize the stamp impression and require strict adherence to the rules.
Printed names will not be recognized in lieu of signatures except in the case of
official gazettes in open covers, posted in large numbers by the office of publication.

(c) Service stamps affixed to, or impressed or embossed on, or impressions of

stamping machine taken on an article which does not bear the prescribed
superscription supported by the signature and official designation of the sender will
not be recognized by the post office in payment of postage.

(d) The delivery and re-direction of articles superscribed “On India Government
Service” or “On Service” are governed by the official designation (when given) of
the addressee.
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199. Unpaid and insufficiently paid articles. –

(1) The postage chargeable on the delivery of official postal articles, when the
postage is not prepaid or is insufficiently prepaid, is as follows: On an unpaid
postcard, letter card, letter, or packet ………. The prepaid rate. On an insufficiently
paid postcard, letter or packet ………. The deficiency.

(2) In cases where it is not thought advisable to entrust postage stamps to a

subordinate official who has to correspond with, or to send returns to, a superior, he
may be allowed by his superior to post to him official articles, other than parcels
without prepaying the postage : and the same course may be adopted in other cases
where it is found convenient or proper to make the postage charge fall on the
receiving office.

NOTE : The prepayment of postage on parcels is compulsory.

200. Officials entitled to use Service Stamps.-

The following persons are entitled to use service postage stamps on official postal
articles sent by them provided the articles posted relate to the Government service
/official duties/official business of that government/institution/particular body :-

(a) All Government officials, except those who are on leave, or have retired from the
Service.

(b) The Vice-Chancellors and registrars of the Universities of Agra, Andhra,

Allahabad, Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Guwahati, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka,
Lucknow, Madras, Meerut, Mysore, Nagpur, North Bengal, Punjab, Patna, Poona,
Rajputana, Roorkee, Saugor, Travancore and of the Annamalai University at
Annamalainagar, Banaras Hindu University, The Maharaja Sayajirao University,
Muslim University, Aligarh, Visva Bharati, Sri Venkateswara University at Tirupati,
Shreemati Nathibai Demodar Thackersey Women”s University at Bombay, Gujarat
University, Utkal University at Cuttack, Bihar University, Kurukshetra University,
Vikram University, Gorakhpur University and Sardar Valabbhai Vidyapeeth.

(c) The President of the District Educational Councils in the State of Tamilnadu and
their Secretaries.

(d) The Astronomer in-charge of the G.V. Juggarao Observatory, Vizagapatnam.

(e) The Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Hospital for Mental Diseases at
Ranchi and the Superintendent of the said Hospital.
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(f) The Secretary of the Indian Central Cotton Committee and Officer-in-charge of
the various research and other schemes conducted from funds placed at their
disposal by the Indian Central Cotton Committee.

(g) The Commissioner of Waqfs in the Muzaffarnagar District of the Uttar Pradesh
and Commissioner of Waqfs, West Bengal.

(h) The President-Secretary of the Assam Sanskrit Board.

(i) The Secretaries of Bombay and Bengal Boards of Film Censors.

(j) The Director of Agriculture in the State of Bombay and officers-in-charge of the
various research and other schemes conducted under supervision of the Director of
Agriculture from funds placed at his disposal by the Trustees of the Sir Sasoon
David Trust fund, provided that the articles posted by them relate solely to the
public business of the scheme and also the Chairman of the Board of the Sir Sasoon
David Trust Fund, Bombay.

(k) The Chairman, Bar Council Madras.

(l) The Executive Officer, Post Haj Committee, Calcutta, and the Secretary, Port Haj
Committee, Bombay.

(m) The Secretary, Indian Council of Agricultural research.

(n) The Deputy Collector of Salt Revenue, Bombay.

(o) The Controller of Emigrant Labour.

(p) The Backward Class Officer, Maharashtra State.

(q) The Secretary of the Indian Central Jute Committee.

(r) The Secretary, Medical Council of India.

(s) The Chairman and the Secretary of the Coal Board.

(t) The Director and the Secretary of the Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research.

(u) The Secretaries of India, State and District Sailors’, Soldiers’, and Airmen’s
Boards in India.

(v) The Chairman and the secretary of the Coffee Board, the Chief Coffee
Marketing Officer and Director of Propaganda, the Deputy Chief Coffee Marketing
Officers-in charge of the various sub-offices of the Board, the Director of Research,
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Superintendent Coffee research, Sub-station, the senior Liaison Officers and Junior
Liaison Officers of the research Department.

(w) The Chairman and the Secretary of the Gujrat, West Bengal, Tamilnadu, Kerala,
Punjab, Haryana, Bombay, Bihar, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Boards and Officers-in-charge of
Power Houses and other administrative offices under the control of the said Boards.

(x) The Secretary, Damodar Valley Corporation.

(y) The Secretary, Dental Council of India.

(z) The Secretary, Indian Central Arecanut Committee.

(aa)The Coal Mines Provident Fund Commissioner.

(bb) The Secretary, the Cotton Textile Fund Committee, Bombay.

(cc)The Secretary, Indian Central Coconut Committee, Ernakulam.

(dd) Deleted.

(ee)Persons who are entitled by Rules made under Section 60 of the

Respresentation of the People Act, 1951 (XLII of 1951) or public servants who are
entitled by Rules made under clause (d) of sub-section (2) of section 169 of the said
Act, to give their votes by Postal Ballot, provided that the articles posted by them
relate solely to the giving of such vote.

EXPLANATION :

Every such postal ballot shall be deemed to be an official postal article for the
purpose of this rule.

(ff) The Director, Central Coconut Research Station, Kasargod and Joint Director,
Central Coconut research Station, Kayangulam.

(gg) The Secretary, the Indian Central Oilseeds Committee.

(hh) The Secretary, Central Council of Gosamvardhana.

(ii) The President, Board of Secondary Education, West Bengal.

(jj) The Secretary, Board of High School and Intermediate Education, Ajmer, Bhopal
and Vindhiya Pradesh and the Secretary, Board of Secondary Education, Orissa.

(kk) The Secretary, the State Primary Education Board, Assam.

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(ll) Arbitrators appointed under the specific orders of the Registrar of Co-operative
Societies in Tamilnadu State to attend to arbitration work connected therewith.

(mm)The Central Provident Fund Commissioner and all Regional Provident Fund
Commissioners in India and the Provident Fund Inspector at Kutch appointed under
the Employee’s Provident Fund Scheme 1952.

(nn) University Grants Commission.

(oo) District Councils of the autonomous districts of Assam constituted by the

Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India, including the Pawi-Laher Regional
Council in the Mizo autonomous district of Assam.

(pp) The Secretary, the Indian Council of Medical Research.

(qq) The chairman, Secretary, Rubber Production Commissioner, Junior Field

Officers and Rubber Instructors of the Rubber Board.

(rr) The Chief Administrator and the Chairman of the Rehabilitation Finance
Administration and the officers-in-charge at Calcutta, Guwahati, Lucknow and
Bombay.

(ss) Officers of the Neyveli Lignite Corporation (Private) Limited at Madras and its
Field Officers at Neyveli in the south Arcot District of Madras.

(tt) The General Manager, Bihar State Road Corporation, Bombay State Road
Corporation, or Saurashtra State Road Corporation.

(uu) The Director and the Registrar of the Indian Institute of Technology,
Kharagpur, Madras and Bombay.

(vv) The Chairman and Secretary of the Central Silk Board.

(ww) The Chairman and Administrative Officers of the West Bengal Development
Corporation.

(xx) The Secretary, National Book Trust of India (Bharatiya Granth Prakashan).

(yy) The chairman and Secretary of the Bombay Housing Board.

(zz)The Administrator and the Chairman of the Territorial Council in the Union
Territory of Himachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura and officers-in-charge of other
administrative offices under the control of the said Council.

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(aaa) Secretary, Central Board for Worker’s Education, Nagpur and Administrative
Officers of Regional Offices of the said Board.

(bbb) Secretary, Oil and Natural Gas Commission, Dehradun.

(ccc) State Khadi and Village Industries Board, Madras.

(ddd) The Director of the Indian school of Mines, Dhanbad.

201. Local Fund Officials.-

Correspondence sent by an officer of a local authority or by an officer of the

Government acting in a capacity connected with local authority, such as the
President or Secretary of a Local Fund Committee, is not deemed official
Correspondence within the meaning of these rules and may not be superscribed as
“On India Government Service”. But nothing in this clause is held to prevent the
transmission on India Government Service of correspondence sent by an officer of
the Government acting as such, although the correspondence may relate to the
affairs of a local authority.

ILLUSTRATION : The Commissioner of a Division writing in that capacity to the

Secretary of Local Fund Committee concerning its affairs may superscribe the letter
“On India Government Service”.

202. Procedure, if ordinary stamps are used for service stamps. – The Postage and
other charges (if any) – on an official article, can be properly prepaid only by a
proper service stamp or stamps or by a proper impression or impressions of
stamping machines. Where, however, an ordinary postage stamp instead of a service
stamp is used on an official postal article, the article will be recognized as an official
postal article by the Post Office; but the irregularity will be brought by the Officer-
in-charge of the post office at which the article was so posted to the notice of the
officer concerned; and, if of frequent occurrence, to the head of the Circle.

203. Letter, etc., from Government Officers to private person and VICE-VERSA. –

(1) Letters, postcards and packets posted by officers of the Government in their
official capacity, addressed to private individuals or associations, will, even when
they relate to the private interests and concerns of the individuals or associations
addressed, be sent as official postal articles, prepaid in the usual way.

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Exceptions : Noting in this sub-rule affect

(a) the practice of the Law Court in regard to the dispatch of certified copies, to
persons who do not appear to take them personally and of documents filed in
judicial cases the return of which has been applied for, or

(b) the dispatch of packets containing books or publications purchases from

Government. Such documents, books or publications may be posted by the judicial
or other Government offices concerned in covers superscribed “Service Unpaid” and
covers so superscribed will be charged, on delivery, with postage at the rate to
which they would have been liable if the postage had been prepaid. All articles so
posted will be endorsed under the full signature and official designation of the
sender, according to the specimen given on the margin.

Service Unpaid
To, A.B.
From
CALCUTTA C.D.,
Commissioner
Gorakhpur 273001

(2) Letters, letter cards, postcards, and packets, sent by private persons to
officers of the Government containing communications which the sender, is
required by a law or rule to make, if superscribed “Service Unpaid”, will if not
refused and returned unopened by the addressee, be charged, on delivery with
postage at the rates to which they would have been liable if the postage had been
prepaid and liable if the postage had been prepaid and not at double rates as in the
case of ordinary articles: provided that an article so sent is addressed to the full
official designation of the officer for whom it is intended and that it has been
endorsed under the full signature of the sender according to the specimen form
given on the margin.

Service Unpaid
To

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The District Superintendent of Police,

LUCKNOW – 226001 Signature of sender

NOTE: The prepayment of postage on parcels is compulsory.

204.Postage due articles. – The amount of postage marked as due on postal articles
delivered under the superscriptions of “Service Unpaid” or “On India Government
Service” or “On Service” will be initialed by the postmaster or other officer
authorized in this behalf by the head of the Circle of the office of delivery, and
whenever any alteration is necessary in the amount as entered in figures the amount
due will be written in words and attested by the signature in full, of the postmaster
or other officer aforesaid. Officers of the Government are bound to receive and to
pay any postage which may be due on articles addressed to them under the above
superscription and bearing the signature in full of the sender. Service stamps will
not be accepted in payment of postage due on such articles.

Correspondence of the President, Vice-President, Ministers of the Central

Government and certain high Government officers when on move.

205.”Camp articles”, special bags and camp bags. –

(1) In order to meet the convenience of the President, Vice-President, Ministers of

the Central Government and certain high officers of Government when on tour or
when their headquarters are changed, the Post Office will do its best, subject to the
following conditions, to deliver to those officers, whenever they may be at the time
fully prepaid uninsured inland camp articles of the letter mail i.e., inland registered
and unregistered letters, postcards, newspapers, and book post (whether official or
private) addressed “Camp” without the addition of the name of any post-town.
Such articles are enclosed in special mail bags for each officer so long as he is absent
from his head-quarters; otherwise they are delivered to him in the ordinary way
through the post office at his headquarters along with other articles for him
addressed to that post-town. A registered list is placed in every special bad and in it
are detailed the registered articles, if any, enclosed in the bag. The registered articles
should be tallied with registered list and the list should be signed in token of receipt
of the registered articles detailed in it, and be returned with the empty bag to the
postal official delivering the mail. Special bags will be delivered on all days
including Sundays and Holidays.

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(2) Only those articles which have been addressed to “Camp” of an officer can be
included in the special bag for that officer and the post office cannot undertake to
discriminate between official and private articles or between articles addressed by
name and those addressed by designation, with a view to enclosed one class of
articles in the special bag and dispatch the other to the headquarters of the officer
concerned. Articles addressed to a post-town can be sent only to that post-town, and
no article whether addressed “Camp” or to a post-town can be redirected in transit.
An article which is addressed neither to a post-town nor will “Camp” be sent to the
headquarters station of the officer concerned.

(3) Parcels, money orders, insured articles, value-payable articles and articles on
which any charge is due cannot be delivered in special bags and should, therefore,
be addressed to a post town. Such articles if addressed “Camp” or without the
addition of a post-town; are liable to be sent to the headquarters station.

(4) Office files and other official papers may also be transmitted by post to or from
the camp of a High Officer to whom these rules are applicable. Such files and papers
must be enclosed in a bag provided for by the sender, and may be sent as “Camp
bag” being booked either at parcel, air parcel or letter mail rate. The Camp bag
booked as parcel will be sent by surface route and will be charged with the postage
payable on a parcel weighing 10 Kg. Plus registration fee and incidental charge of
Rs. 16/- irrespective of the weight of the bag, subject to a maximum of 10 Kgs. The
camp bag booked as parcel will be sent by surface without being enclosed in any bag
but along with other mail bags”. The camp bag booked as air parcel will be charged
with postage at air parcel rate depending upon the weight of air parcel, and
registration fee. In addition, a sum of Rs. 6 (rupees six) only as incidental charges for
special arrangements made by this Department for collection and delivery of the bag
would be realized. The camp bag booked as letter mail will not be charged with any
additional postage other than registration fee. All charges including incidental
charges on camp bags booked as parcel or air parcel should be prepaid in service
stamps. The camp bag will be booked and delivered on all days including Sunday
and P.O. Holiday. The camp bag should have two labels, viz., one address-label
bearing the name and full address of the addressee and another tag-label showing
the following :

To be forwarded loose as Service

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Regd. parcel/air parcel/letter mail postal

TO stamps

*
Date-stamp
Of P.O. of
Posting
(*To be filled in by the Post Office)

The booking as parcel, or air parcel or letter mail may be shown by striking out the
items not required by the sender on this tag label. The service postage stamps
should be affixed on the right hand upper corner of this tag-label. The camp bag will
be booked and delivered on all days including Sunday and Holiday.

206. Tour programmes of High Officers entitled to special bags. –

(1) To enable arrangements to be made for the delivery of an officer’s camp

correspondence, it is essential that he should give the Post Office timely and exact
information as to his movements. This information should be furnished in the form
of a tour programme showing the date, with times, on which the officer will start
from and arrive at each place to be visited, the route to be followed, the halts to be
made and how the several journey will be performed (whether by regular or special
train, by steamer or boat, by carriage, etc.). the tour programme should also show
whether (a) routing of all camp articles through Post and closing of special bags
containing such camp articles is desired, and/or (b) conveyance of ‘camp bags’ from
the secretariat to high Officer-in-Camp and vice versa are required.

(2) The following table shows the high officers entitled to the privilege of the special
bags and camp bags, with the postal address to be adopted for this purpose as
regards each officer, and the name of the postal authority to whom the tour
programme should, in each case, be furnished.

1. The President and his Council of Ministers , Vice president (furnish tour
programmes with DG post)

2. Governor of the state ( furnish tour programmes with PMG)

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(3) The tour programme should be furnished well in advance of the date on which
the tour is to commence and instructions should, at the same time, be issued to
correspondents as to how letter etc. intended for delivery on tour, are to be
addressed. It is suggested that with these instructions a specimen form of address,
thus

- (Name,
Etc.)

Mily, Secy. To Governor of Andhra

Pradesh

A.P. Governor’s
Camp. be added to the published tour programme.

(4) In the event of any alteration being subsequently made in the tour programme-
such a deviation from their intended route, a longer or shorter halt at any place than
at first contemplated a journey by road or otherwise to a place off the intended route
the earliest possible information with details should be given to the postal authority
to whom the tour programme was originally furnished and also direct to the local
Superintendents, Railway Mail Service, superintendents, Arilway mail Service,
located at the following Stations, viz., Ajmer, Allahabad, Ambala, Bangalore,
Bombay (Bombay sorting division), Baroda, Cuttack, Calcutta (W.B. division),
Calcutta (H.Division), Calcutta (Calcutta Sorting Division), Delhi (D.Division.) Delhi
(Sorting and air Mail division), Gorakhpur, Gaya, Hyderabad, (Hyderabad Sorting
Division) Hyderabad (Z Division) Jhansi, Lucknow, Madras (M. Division), Madras
(Madras Sorting Division), Muzaffarpur, Nagpur, Patna, Poona, Rajkot, Silchar,
Tiruchirapalli and Vijayawada.

207. Articles for persons accompanying High Officers on tour. – With the tour
programme may also be furnished at the option of the high officer concerned a list of
the persons comprising his tour party. The Post office, however, does not recognize
the right of such persons to the privilege extended to the high officers in question,
nor does it make any special arrangements in respect of their correspondence,
through all letters, etc., if sent “care of” a high officer, are dealt with in the same way
as correspondence for the latter. So far as the Post Office is concerned it is
immaterial whether the addressee of an article directed “Camp” is not with the high
officer whose address it bears, as the article will be disposed of in accordance with

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that address. Similarly, an article for any member of the tour party addressed to a
post-town cannot be sent elsewhere except by re-direction at that post town. The
only use made by the Post Office of the list referred to above is to regard it, in the
absence of other orders, as instructions for the redirection of the correspondence of
the persons named in it received at the headquarters of the high officer concerned.

SECTION IV –

PROHIBITED ARTICLES 209.

General Prohibitions. – The transmission by the Inland post of the undermentioned

articles is prohibited :-

(1) Anything which is sent in contravention of any enactment for the time being in
force.

(2) Any indecent or obscene printing, painting, photograph, lithograph, engraving,

book or card, or any other indecent or obscene articles.

(3) Any letter, postcard, newspaper, packet or parcel having on it or on the cover
thereof, any words, marks or design of an indecent, obscene, seditious, scurrilous
threatening, or grossly offensive nature.

(4) Any explosive, inflammable, dangerous, filthy, noxious or deleterious substance

(but see Clauses 152 and 153).

NOTE 1 : A liquid is considered inflammable, which has its flashing point below
200 F when tested in the manner laid down in Schedule III of the Petroleum Rules,
1937. Spirits having a flash point of 90°F or below or having a greater strength that
approximately 60° under proof (24 per cent alcohol by volume) and Turpentine and
its products and varnishes of all kinds including lithographic varnish are included
in the term inflammable.

NOTE 2: The term “Explosives” includes the articles as defined in the Indian
Explosives Act, 1884, the Indian Explosive substances Act, 1908 and the notifications
issued from time to time under the said Acts, Matches are also included in the term
“Explosives” for the purpose of this clause.

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(5) Any sharp instrument not properly protected.

Explanation :- Pins may not be used to fasten together the two halves of reply post
card or to fasten the cover to packets of other postal articles as they are liable to
injure other small matter.

(6) Any living creatures or other thing which is either noxious or likely to injure
postal article in course of transmission by post or any officer or the Post Office (but
see Clauses 133, 147 to 151).

(7) (i) Ticket, proposal or advertisement relating to a lottery, or

(ii) Any other matter descriptive of or otherwise relating to a lottery which is

calculated to act as an inducement to persons to participate in that lottery.

NOTE - The prohibition will not apply to the lottery organized or authorized by
Government, provided there appear on the outside of the postal article

(i) a declaration by the sender of the postal article that the lottery tickets or
circulars etc. contained therein relate to a lottery authorized or organized by the
Government, mentioning the particulars (number, date etc.) of the notification by
the government notifying the letter or authorizing the lottery, and

(ii) the name and address of the sender.

(8) Newspapers in respect of which the rules laid down in the Press and Registration
of Books act, 1867, as subsequently amended, have not been complied with.

(9) Gold coin or bullion or both of a value exceeding Rs. 100000. the value for the
purposes of this sub-clause 172 item (g) of the last proviso to clause 182 and clause
184 shall be the market value on the date and at the place of posting.

(10) All classes of articles of the letter mail of which the whole or a part of the
address side has been marked off into several divisions intended to receive
successive addresses.

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210. Local Prohibitions. –

(i) The transmission by the inland post of the undermentioned articles is prohibited
in the localities shown :-

(a) Between two places in India. – Opium and morphia and their preparations, coca
leaves, Indian hemp (including charas, Bhang and ganja) and extract and tincture of
Indian hemp (gannabes indica) cocaine and its allied drugs; preparation thereof
subject to the exemption of

(i) transactions of account of the Government and

(ii) the dispatch of recognized medical preparations exempted from the

operation of the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930. Government consignments can be
transmitted through the post on the following conditions:-

(a) only the parcel post may be used, and

(b) the parcel shall be accompanied by a declaration stating the names or

designations of the consignee and consignor, the contents of the parcels in detail,
and the indent number and date covering the transaction.

Exception.- Opium and morphia and their preparations, coca leaves and hemp and
preparations thereof, cocaine and its allied drugs and preparation thereof, can be
sent by post under the following conditions by any chemist licensed to possess and
sell them :-

(1) that they are sent by the parcel post and that the parcels are insured.

(2) that their transmission by post is not prohibited by the Government of the
State in which the dispatching post office is situated and that in every case
transmission is covered by a permit issued by the proper authorities in the State in
which the place of destination of the parcel is situated.

(3) that each parcel containing any of the drugs mentioned or their preparation
is accompanied by a declaration stating the names of the consignee and consignor
the contents of the parcel in detail, the permit number and date covering the
transmission, the number of the licence held by the consignee or a declaration that
the consignee is exempt from the obligation to have in possession a licence for the
quantity concerned and any further particulars that may be required.

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(b) Port Blair and Nancowry.- (1) The skins and features of all birds other than
domestic birds except

(a) feathers of ostriches and

(b) skins feather exported bona fide as specimens illustrative of natural history – to
or from Port Blair or Nancowry.

NOTE :- Manufactured articles containing the skins or feathers of bird (such as fans
and boas) also come within the above prohibition.

(2) All dangerous drugs and Narcotics as defined in the Dangerous Drugs Act,
1930. (d) Punjab and Delhi. – Coca leaves and hemp and preparations thereof. To or
from the Punjab and Delhi State as well as within the Punjab and Delhi State.

(e) Punjab. – “Kutch except under a pass signed in the case of Kutch imported from
the Kashmir state, by the conservator of Kashmir, soil Conservation and Forest
Industries Circle or the Divisional Forest Officer, Utilisation Division, Jammu ad
Kashmir State.

(f) Deleted.

(g) (i) Transmission by means of letters, sample and parcel post of the
undermentioned articles is prohibited in the localities shown – From any place in
Jammu and Kashmir State; to any place in any other State in India, the following
articles namely ; Kutch, except under a special permit signed by the Conservator of
Forest, Kashmir.

NOTE:- The following drugs have been brought under the Kutch Act and as such
their transmission by post comes within the purview of the above prohibition

:- Sl. List of Drugs Local Name No.

1. Artimisia Maritima . . . . . . Morin.

2. Inula Bacemosa . . . . . . Poshkar.

3. Pyrethum Cinearifolium . . . . . Pyrethum

4. Atropa Belladona . . . . . . Bellodona

5. Aconitum Heterophyllum . . . . . Patis

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6. Colchicum Lutterum . . . . . . Suranjan Talak

7. Hyoscymous Niger . . . . . . Bazar Bhang

8. Lavatora Kashmiriana . . . . . . Resha Khatmi

9. Prodophyllum Amodi . . . . . . Bankakri

(ii) Transmission by means of letter and sample post from any place in the Punjab,
Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamilnadu, West Bengal, Assam, Orissa and
Himachal Pradesh to any place in any other State in India, the articles which are
likely to carry the destructive insect known as the San Jose (bhang and ganja) and
extract and tincture of Indian exemption scale. [Government of India, Ministry of
Food and Agriculture Notification No. F.6-7/52-Dte.1(1), dated 5-2-1953 as corrected
from time to time issued under the Destructive Insects and Posts Act, 1914.]

(iii) Transmission by means of letter and sample post from any place in Tamilnadu,
Kerela and Karnataka to any place in any State of India, the articles which are likely
to carry the destructive insect known as “Icerya Purchasi”. [Govt. of India, Ministry
of Agriculture Notification No. F.3-5(1)/46 PPS, dated 27.12.48 as corrected from
time to time and Department of Education, Health and Lands Notification
(Agriculture) No. F.16-3/43-A, Date 28-3 44 as corrected from time to time issued
under the destructive Insect and Pests Act of 1914.]

(iv) Transmission by means of letter and sample post from and place in
Maharashtra, Kerala and Orissa to any place in any State of India of banana because
of the danger to carry the destructive disease known as “Bunchy Top Mosaic”.
[Govt. of India, Ministry of Agriculture Notification No. F.9-12/4 PPS, dated 24-6-50,
F. 6-32/51-Dte. 1, dated 28-6-52 and F. 6-32/51-Dte. dated 17-9-52 as corrected from
time to time –issued under the Destructive Insects and Pests Act, 1914.]

211. Treatment of Injurious Article. –

In any case in which a postmaster has good reason to suspect that the contents of
any postal article are likely to injure the mails or harm the person of any one
engaged in the postal service he is directed to detain the suspected article and to
refer the case at once for the orders of the Head of the Circle. Article fastened with
pins will be returned at once to the senders, if the irregularity is detected at the office
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of posting. If detected subsequently, they will be returned through the Returned

Letter Office, the pins being first removed.

212. Treatment of prohibited or durable articles. –

(1) Except where otherwise provided, any postal article found to contain any
goods, which are being imported or transmitted by post in contravention of any
enactment for the time being in force will be returned to the sender, and if only
suspected to contain such goods will be forwarded marked “Doubtful” to the office
of destination where it will be opened in the presence of the addressee.

(2) Imported Postal article containing coin, bullion, precious stones, jewellery,
article of gold or silver or other articles which are liable to customs duty will not be
transmitted by post unless and until the customs duty payable has been paid.

213. Articles bearing thereon any matter which is prejudicial to the Maintenance
of Law and Order, etc. –

(1) No article will be transmitted by post which has thereon, or on the cover
thereof, any matter which is prejudicial to the maintenance of law and order or
which is in furtherance of the aims of a Political Party or organization, or any matter
which tends directly to cause loss or injury, to any community or class of persons
whatsoever.

(2) No article will be transmitted by post which has thereon, or on the cover
thereof, any pictorial representation of a person who is proclaimed offender, or who
has been convicted of an offence punishable under Chapter VI of the Indian Penal
Code or the defense of India Rules or who has been directed to be detained under
the provisions of rule 26 of the said Rules.

(3) If any article in course of transmission by post is found to contravene the

provisions of sub-clause (1) or (2), it will be sent to the Returned Letter Office for
disposal.

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214. Article which have anything written, printed, impressed or attached to the
address side. –

(1) No article will be transmitted by post which has anything written, printed or
otherwise impressed upon or attached to its address-side, which, either on account
of its being likely to be mistaken for stamps used for the payment of postage or by
inconvenient proximity to any such stamp or by tending to prevent the easy and
quick reading of the address or in other way, is in itself or in the manner in which it
is written, printed, impressed or attached, likely, is in the opinion of the Director-
General, to embarrass the office of the Post Office in dealing with such article.

(2) No article will be transmitted by post which bears any stamps that was at any
time but is not now, in use for the payment of postage or which has printed or
otherwise impressed upon or attached to it, or any part of it, a facsimile, imitation,
likeness, reproduction or representation of such stamp.

(3) If any article in the course of transmission is found to contravene the

provisions of sub clause (1) or (2) it will be returned to the sender.

THANK YOU & ALL THE BEST

Important notes for students:

*If any corrections, misprints, errors and updations are noted, kindly mail us:
[email protected] or send via watsapp us @ 9003494950/9342190166.

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