Foreign Mails

2.2.1

Role of UPU
Established in 1875 with headquarters in
Berne Switzerland with 192 member countries
Sets guidelines exchange of mail between
countries
Standardises Postal charges to be collected by
each country on letter post items
UPU manages IPS facilitating tracking of
international mail item
UPU also manages IFS to provide international
money order service
2.2.2

Introduction

International Mail

Postal articles
Sender and recipient in different countries

Governed by international treaties

Universal Postal Convention

Bilateral and multilateral treaties
International Contracts

Involves multiple agencies

Posts, customs, ports etc

Involves accounting for all classes of mail

Is essentially import and export

Remittances

Money orders
Money transfers through tieups
2.2.3

International Mail Business

Categories:

Letter Post items(LC/AO) up to 2 kgs

Letters
Postcards
Printed Papers
Small Packets
Blind Literature(7kgs)
Bulk (M) Bags up to 30 kgs(includes Bags containing newspapers,
periodicals, books etc to one addressee)

Postal Parcels up to 20 kgs

Flat Rate Boxes
Express Mail Service(EMS)- Fastest possible postal service
WorldNet Express

Surface, Air and Surface Airlift Services(SAL)

2.2.4

Tariff
Sl. Name
No
of
Servi
ce

Item

( i ) LETTER Up to 20 grams
S
For every additional 20
grams or part thereof up to
500 grams
Beyond 500 grams, for every
additional 100 grams or part
thereof up to 2000 grams
( ii ) SMALL Up to 100 grams
PACKE For every additional 100
TS
grams or part thereof up to
2000 grams
( iii ) PRINTE Up to 20 grams
D
For every additional 20
PAPERS grams or part thereof up to
500 grams

Name of
the
country

Rate
(In
INR)

For all the

countries

20.00
8.00
30.00

For all the

countries

40.00
30.00

For all the

countries

10.00
5.00
20.00
2.2.5

Tariff
( iv)
(V)

BLIND LITERATURE For all the

Exempted
PACKETS
countries
from postage
POST CARD (Single) (i) Pakistan,
4.00
Bangladesh, Nepal
and Bhutan
(ii) Asian Pacific
6.00
Postal Union
countries except
Pakistan,
Bangladesh Nepal
and Bhutan
(iii) Universal
7.00
Postal Union
countries other
than those referred
to in (i) and (ii)
above.

2.2.6

Tariff contd
SAL rates
Rs. 4/- for every 20 gms charged for all countries except
SAARC countries in addition to Postage

AIR surcharge
Applied for every 20 gms or part thereof
For SAARC countries Rs. 3.00
For other countries Rs. 5.00

Bulk bag
For the first 5 kgs Rs. 350.00
For every additional 1 kg Rs. 100.00

Parcel mail
Tariff for various countries separately defined. Consult Ready
Reckoner
2.2.7

Tariff calculator
International tariff can be calculated
using the menu Tools Postage
calculator and hitting the link
International mails in the IndiaPost
site

2.2.8

Governance

Governed by PO Guide part II

Based on IPO Rules 1933
Universal Postal Convention

Letter & Parcel Post Regulations

EMS Manual

Governed by all Import & Export Laws

DGFT Circulars
Prohibitions & Restrictions
DGCA Restrictions for airmail

Based on ICAO& IATA Rules

2.2.9

Financials

India Post gets for delivering postal articles:

SDR 4.049 for 1 kg of LC/AO mail

0.6 SDR Extra for each Registered letter
1 SDR Extra for each Insured article
Minimum of 3.5 SDR for EMS Document
Minimum of 5 SDR for EMS Merchandise
Almost 7 SDR's for a Parcel

Pay similar amounts to other countries

Revenue Potential is tremendous

2.2.10

Checks at point of Booking

Most critical
Check and inform customer of service features

Existence of service

EMS or SAL service may not be available to a country

Wrongly booked article will lead to a grievance and
added cost

Registration- A value addition to a low value

service

What can be registered- Only LC/AO mails

Made accountable and trackable by giving a

number
All other services like Parcels and EMS are already
accountable

2.2.11

Checks at point of Booking(Contd.)

Correct Barcoding

For Parcels starting with C and ending with IN

For insured Parcels starting with CV
For EMS starting with E and ending with IN
For Registered Letters starting with R
For Insured letters starting with V
These have ISO and Postal technical standards

For articles with Barcodes

Booking data is captured online Called Event A

Is transmitted through IPS to foreign countries.
Allows end to end tracking
2.2.12

Checks at point of Booking(Contd.)

Effects of Wrong Barcoding:

Article cant be tracked

Ends up at the wrong Office of Exchange

The Office of Exchange in India or abroad will change the
barcode

The Department may have to pay penalty to the foreign

postal operator
May end up paying EMS Rates for a registered letter!

If there's no Barcode

A penalty of 1 SDR per article for Registered letters is

applicable
For EMS and Parcels- They are treated as non-accountable
Revenue is lost due to this
2.2.13

Checks at point of Booking(Contd.)

Customs Declaration

All articles should have a CN22/CN23

Sender advised to check prohibitions/ restrictions

Booking official should know the importance
For merchandise commercial invoices a must
Customs related issues are senders responsibility

CN 22 for value less than SDR 300

CN23- Multiple copies(depends on Country)

Our duty is to facilitate

Article without declarations can be delayed

and confiscated
2.2.14

2.2.15

2.2.16

Checks at point of Booking(Contd.)

Packaging

Parcels should not be packed in cloth

Documents should be in secure envelopes

Address

Complete in English
Telephone number
Post code

2.2.17

Effects of Correct Booking

Proper

channel is ensured
Tracking possible
Delays in Customs clearance
eliminated
Timely delivery is ensured
Accounting is facilitated
Leads to customer satisfaction and
growth in Business
2.2.18

Practice
Exercise 2.2.1

2.2.19