MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS (Department of Posts) NOTIFICATION New Delhi, the 16th December, 2024 S.O. 5440(E).— In exercise of the powers conferred by section 13 of the Post Office
Act, 2023 (43 of 2023), the Director General, with the prior approval of the Central
Government, hereby makes the following regulations, namely:- CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY 1. Short title and commencement.- (1) These regulations may be called the Post Office
Regulations, 2024. (2) They shall come in to force on the 16
th
day of December, 2024. 2. Definitions.- (1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, - (a) “accountable items” means such items that provide a receipt at the time of
booking for track and trace (stage wise electronic data on movement of item) and
require the signature (in ink or digital) of the addressee, the payee, or their
authorised person upon receipt of an item, to provide evidence of delivery and
include items such as India Post Parcel, Speed Post, Magazine Post, International
Speed Post Services (EMS), International Air Parcels, International Tracked Packets,
International Registered Letter items, Money Order and items with value added
services like registration, insurance and cash on delivery (COD); (b) “Act” means the Post Office Act, 2023 (43 of 2023); (c) “addressee” means the intended recipient or the person to whom any item is to
be delivered; (d) “administrative instructions” means the executive or administrative orders or
instructions including guidelines issued by the Central Government or, as the case
may be, the Director General as specified under regulation 178 or regulation 179 or
regulation 180, as the case may be; (e) “authorised person” means a person, duly authorised by the addressee to
receive the item or by a payee to receive the money on his behalf;(f) “delivery” means the delivery of an item at the address of the addressee, or to
the addressee or other person or location considered to be authorised to receive the
item according to the usual manner of delivering items to the addressee; (g) “Director (Postal Services)” means the Director in any administrative office of
the Post Office or an officer exercising the powers of Director (Postal Services); (h) “in course of transmission by post” means the period starting from receipt of
an item by the post office to its delivery to the addressee or return to the sender or
otherwise disposed of; (i) “letter box” means a box installed in post offices or mail offices or at public
places, for posting of fully prepaid letters, postcards, letter cards and book post
items; (j) “payee” means the person who intends to receive money through money
remittance services; (k) “post" means any system for collection, clearance, sorting, dispatch,
conveyance, and delivery of items by the postal network; (l) “Postmaster” means the Director or Chief Postmaster of general post office, or
Senior Postmaster or Head Postmaster of head post office, or an officer exercising
the powers of Postmaster, as the case may be, who is the head of such post office; (m) “redirection” means action of assigning or directing an item to an address,
other than the one to which it was initially addressed, for a specific reason; (n) “remitter” means the person who remits money through money remittance
services; (o) “rules” means the Post Office Rules, 2024 and the expression “rule” shall mean
a rule of the said rules; (p) “schedule” means the schedule annexed to these regulations; (q) “sender” means a person who sends any item; and (r) “weight” means gross weight or volumetric weight, whichever is higher, except
when stated otherwise. (2) Words and expressions used herein but defined in the Act or the Post Office Rules,
2024, shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Act or the said
rules.CHAPTER II GENERAL 3. Business hours.- (1) The business hours in a post office, during which business is
transacted with the public, shall generally be as under on normal weekdays, which
are not holidays for the Post Office or the Government holidays, namely: - Sl. No. Work Business Hours (i) For references and enquiries During the entire working
hours of the office (ii) Counter services including booking and
posting of items, premium collection of
insurance premiums Six hours (iii) Money remittance- Electronic Money
Order, Indian Postal Order etc. Six hours (iv) Savings Bank Six hours (2) Branch post offices shall be kept open for a maximum period of five hours in a day. 4. (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- (a) 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; (b) the kind of transactions available during such business hours; and (c) 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. 5. Payment of postage and other sums chargeable on items.- (1) Postage shall
generally be paid by modes mentioned in rule 9.(2) The pre-payment of postage and other sums payable on an item shall be mandatory
except otherwise mentioned in these regulations. 6. Postage on unaccountable items and unpaid items.- (1) If the postage required on
unaccountable items, which have embossed postage on it, is more than the value of
the stamp printed on them, the difference shall be made good by affixing additional
postage stamps of the requisite value. (2) Unpaid or insufficiently paid items are liable to be kept on hold for charging the
postage due on them. 7. Postage and chargeable sums not deemed to be prepaid.- The postage and other
sums chargeable on an item shall not be deemed to be prepaid by means of a proper
stamp or franking impression or point of sale receipt if- (a) the stamp or impression of a stamp or impression which has not been provided
for use as a postage stamp or franking impression or point of sale receipt under
these regulations or rules; (b) the stamp has been obliterated, defaced, torn, cut or otherwise rendered
imperfect; (c) the stamp or franking impression or point of sale receipt has upon it, any word,
letter, figure or design, printed or impressed upon it, otherwise than by the
Director General before posting; or (d) the stamp has been cut, or otherwise, separated from an embossed envelope,
or from a postcard or wrapper: Provided that nothing in this regulation shall prevent the perforation of
postage stamps with initials, or other identifying marks, traced in minute holes: Provided further that nothing in this regulation shall prevent the transmission
of Book Now Pay Later (BNPL) items or other items as specified by administrative
instructions from time to time. 8. Supply of postage stamps.- (1) The operational guidelines for supply, custody and
sale of postage stamps, shall be specified by administrative instructions from time to
time. (2) No person or entity or institution or organisation or electronic platform shall sell
or distribute postage stamps or deal in any other manner in postage stamps, except
with the prior permission of the Director General. (3) Whoever contravenes the provisions of sub-regulation (2) above or any term or
condition of permission issued thereunder shall be punishable under the relevant
provisions of the applicable law of the land for the time being in force.9. Fraudulent usage of stamp.- (1) The act of usage of previously used postage stamp,
fraudulently or with intent to cause loss to the Government, shall be punishable under
the applicable law of the land for the time being in force. (2) If such postage stamp is detected on an item already posted, the item shall not be
delivered and dealt with in a manner as may be specified by administrative
instructions from time to time. 10. Illegal manufacture or usage of postage stamps.- (1) The illegal manufacturing
and usage of the postage stamp such as forged, counterfeit, or fictitious postage
stamps shall be punishable under the applicable law of the land for the time being in
force. (2) Reproduction of stamps shall only be allowed for illustration purposes in a
philatelic publication, or in an item or section relating wholly to postage stamps that
may appear in a publication or a general character, and such reproductions shall only
be in such form as may be specified by administrative instructions from time to time. 11. Philately.- (1) Philately is a study and collection of stamps, postal stationery,
postmarks and other philatelic materials. (2) The operational procedures related with the philately shall be specified by
administrative instructions from time to time. 12. Philatelic materials.- (1) Philatelic materials shall be issued by the Post Office as
per administrative instructions specified from time to time. (2) Philatelic materials include — (a) philatelic stamps; (b) first day covers, brochures or information sheets, special covers, maxim cards,
annual packs, postal stationeries and various Philatelic publications and
ancillaries; (c) artworks, proofs, progressive sheets, printed sheets and printing plates of
philatelic stamps; and (d) postmarks, slogan dies and other artifacts used in connection with the
production of philatelic stamps. (3) The Director General shall specify by administrative instructions the philatelic
material to be sold in post offices. (4) All the activities corresponding to production and issue of philatelic materials shall
be carried out as per administrative instructions issued from time to time. 13. Issuance of postage stamps.- The postage stamps shall be issued in the following
types, namely:- (a) Definitive Stamps: Definitive Stamps are postage stamps, specifically issued tomeet the day-to-day postage needs and are made available for sale for a period till
stocks of a particular series last, which shall be printed and reprinted in different
denominations as per the requirement of the post office. (b) Commemorative Stamps: (i) Commemorative Stamps are postage stamps issued to commemorate an event,
institution, theme and personages, which shall be printed only once, in limited
numbers and are sold for a limited period, as may be specified by administrative
instructions from time to time, through philatelic bureaus, philatelic counters,
online channels or authorised offices. (ii) The Commemorative Stamps may be kept as collectible items and may be used
for payment of postage. (c) Special Stamps: Special Stamps are postage stamps which are thematic like flora,
fauna, architecture or art without commemorating any specific event. (d) Joint Issue Stamps: Joint Issue Stamps are postage stamps which are issued by
India and any other country on mutually agreed terms and conditions. (e) My Stamps: My Stamps are such stamps which are issued on the basis of
personalised or customised printing elements provided by the customer or proponent,
subject to confirmation with administrative instructions specified from time to time. 14. (1) Issuance of Commemorative Postage Stamp.- Any citizen of India may tender
a proposal for issue of Commemorative Postage Stamp in accordance with the
administrative instructions specified from time to time. (2) All such proposals shall be examined on the basis of the administrative instructions
specified by the Central Government from time to time. (3) Proponents for issue of a commemorative stamp relating to institutions or events
or organisations are required to make a mandatory purchase of number of such
stamps as specified by administrative instructions from time to time: Provided that in exceptional and deserving cases, Central Government may
relax this condition. (4) The denominations of postage stamps shall be in consonance with domestic and
international postal postage. (5) No postage stamp shall be issued on a living personality. (6) Stamp design and denomination shall be as approved by the Central Government.(7) All philatelic stamps, brochures, first day covers and philatelic ancillaries shall be
sold by the Post Office on the denoted value or on the value specified by
administrative instructions from time to time. 15. Philatelic Advisory Committee.- (1) The Philatelic Advisory Committee shall
advise on the issue of Commemorative Stamps, Special Stamps, and other allied
matters related thereto. (2) The Union Minister-in-Charge of the Ministry of Communications shall be the ex
officio Chairperson of the Philatelic Advisory Committee and shall nominate the
official and non-official members of the Committee as per the administrative
instructions specified from time to time. 16. Manner of affixing postage stamps.- (1) Stamps affixed to an item must be
completely adherent to the item itself and not to any part of its contents or any
separate label or other device tied or attached to the item. (2) The stamps should be affixed to the right-hand top corner of the address side. (3) The provisions of this regulation shall apply to franking of items in toto. 17. Price of postage stamps and stationery.- (1) Postage stamps, postcards, letter card
and aerogramme shall be sold for the denoted value of the stamps which they bear. (2) The embossed envelopes and the registration envelopes shall be sold at the prices
mentioned in Table VII of Schedule I. (3) Special Rakhi Envelopes shall be sold at the prices as the Circle Head concerned
may determine. 18. Standards for addressing on domestic 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 contain such elements
and, in such order, as given below: - Name 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/CityPost 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. (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.19. Mails for defence services personnel.- The following particulars shall be
furnished in the address in the case of items for the personnel of the defence services,
which are to be delivered through the army post offices: - No. Rank Name Unit Such items should be addressed to Care of (C/o) 56 A.P.O. or Care of (C/o) 99 A.P.O. 20. 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. 21. 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. (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 thoroughfare, secondary
thoroughfare) PO BoxPost 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 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.