Guidelines for refund of postage charges in respect of International Mail Articles 16072026.pdf
1 DA-26/3/2020-DA Government of India Ministry of Communications Department of Posts (DA Section) Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg New Delhi - 110001 Dated 16.07.2026 Office Memorandum
Subject: Guidelines for refund of postage charges in respect of International Mail Articles – reg.
The undersigned is directed to convey that, considering references received from Circles/FPOs regarding refund of postage in cases where conveyance service could not be rendered by India Post, the Competent Authority has decided to issue the following guidelines for regulating refund of postage in respect of International Mail Articles.
- 2. Admissibility of Refund of Postage
In pursuance of Clause 119(2) and 119A(5), Chapter IV of the Post Office Regulations, 2024, refund of postage shall be admissible in the following three cases:
- (A) Recall of Article by Sender
The sender of an accountable International Mail Article may recall the article before Customs assessment/examination by submitting a written request at the booking Post Office. Where the article has already been presented to Customs, the concerned FPO/SFPO shall request termination of export and return of the article on the basis of the sender's request. No recall fee shall be charged in either of the above cases. However, only 70% of the postage paid shall be refunded. 2
- (B) Non-transmission of Articles:
Refund of postage shall be admissible where the Department is unable to transmit the article to the destination country due to reasons not directly attributable to the sender, including the following:
- (i) Suspension of Services: The 100% postage shall be refunded and return postage due (if applicable) shall be waived off in the scenarios where services could not be rendered due to:
• • natural disasters, war, civil unrest, emergency situations, strikes, blockades, or sabotage; suspension/disruption of airline or transit services due to operational, technical, logistical, weather, or force majeure conditions; and policy or regulatory restrictions at origin, transit, or destination. Suspension of transit services by a transit country due to force majeure conditions such as conflict, embargo, or suspension of transit agreements.
- (ii) Return by Indian Customs or Security Agencies:
- (a) If articles are in India and returned by Indian Customs/Security Agencies/Terminal Operators after X-ray screening at airports on grounds of non-airworthiness, dangerous/prohibited/restricted contents, incomplete documentation, etc., only 50% of postage shall be refunded.
- (iii) Return of articles due to no response from sender:
- (a) If sender does not respond to the query raised or additional information sought by Indian Customs or security agencies for the period of more than 3 months, the same shall be returned to the sender without any refund of postage. The concerned FPO shall coordinate with customs to terminate the export and return shipment to the sender while duly recording the reason for the return as "No response from sender on customs observations" and without waiting for any recall request.
- (iv) Loss of damage of article:
- (a) Cases relating to loss or damage of article in transit shall be settled as per compensation provisions issued vide OM No. CF-71/29/202-CF-DOP dated
3 29.04.2022 and SOP issued vide OM No. CF-71/29/2021-CF-DOP dated 04.03.2025.
- (C) Return of Article by Destination Country:
- (i) Return of Articles due to Technical/System Issues, Incorrect ITMATT Data, Oversize/Overweight Articles or Missing CN22/CN23 Forms
Refund of postage shall be admissible where the destination country returns the article for reasons not directly attributable to the sender, including technical/system-related issues, incorrect or incomplete ITMATT data, oversize/overweight articles, or missing CN22/CN23 forms as follows:
- (a) There shall be no refund of postage where the return of the article is due to incorrect or incomplete information furnished by the sender, including address, weight, description of contents, HS Code, IOSS No., ZIP/Post codes, supporting documents, or any other mandatory data elements. Applicable return postage charges, if any, shall also be collected from the sender.
- (b) If it is established that the article was returned due to incorrect or incomplete ITMATT details (address of sender, ZIP code, weight, product description of contents, HS code, etc.) attributable to erroneous data entry by the Counter staff, 100% postage shall be refunded to the customer and return postage charges (if any) shall not be collected from the customer. In this case, the postage and return postage charges, if any, shall be recovered from the concerned Counter staff, including supervisor in equal proportion, due to their failure in exercising due diligence and required supervision, after due examination by the competent authority. However, where the return is due to technical limitations or faults in DoP systems, full postage shall be refunded to the sender and return postage charges, if any, shall be waived and not collected from the customer and recovery is not to be made from the counter PA or Supervisor, in this case.
- (c) If an article is returned by the destination country for exceeding the prescribed size or weight limits, the competent authority shall examine whether the article was accepted due to erroneous data entry by the Counter staff or due to systemic/technical deficiencies. If the system had correctly displayed the
4 permissible size and weight limits at the time of booking, but the Counter staff failed to properly measure or weigh the article before acceptance, the 50% postage paid by the customer shall be refunded and the return postage charges, if any, shall not be collected from the customer. In this case of the fault of counter staff and of supervisor due to lack of supervision, the 50% postage and return charges shall be recovered from the counter staff and supervisor, in equal proportion, after due inquiry by the competent authority. However, if the article was accepted due to systemic or technical faults during booking, the full postage shall be refunded to the customer and return postage charges, if any, shall be waived and not collected from the customer and no recovery to be made from counter staff in this case.
- (d) The Counter staff shall generate the CN22/CN23 form through the APT system on the basis of particulars furnished by the customer and ensure correct capture of all required details and proper affixation of the form on the article. Supervisor to also check and ensure correctness of the data in the CN22/CN23 forms and that the same is affixed properly on the shipment, as per the guidelines issued from time to time. Where the CN22/CN23 form is found missing at a later stage in the FPO/OE, the concerned FPO/OE may retrieve the relevant particulars from the Customs Data System (CDS) and affix a printed copy
of the form to facilitate onward transmission. In cases where the article is returned from the destination country due to missing CN22/CN23 form, the concerned Head of Postal/RMS Division of the booking office shall conduct a detailed inquiry and investigate and decide on the case-to-case basis on the refund of the full postage and waiver of return postage due. The full postage may be refunded to the customer and return postage charges, if any, may be waived and required recovery made from counter staff, including supervisor, on the basis of the results of inquiry/investigation.
- (ii) Errors Attributable to Destination Postal Administration
Where the destination postal administration confirms that the return occurred due to operational or systemic deficiencies at their end, the article may be re-dispatched, if so desired by the sender, after ensuring correct transmission of electronic data and affixation of complete CN22/CN23 forms. However, if the sender opts for return of the article, full postage shall be refunded and return postage charges, if any, shall be waived of. 5
- 3. Cases Where Refund Shall Not Be Admissible
No refund of postage shall be admissible, and return postage charges, if any,
may also be recovered from the sender, in the following cases: · incorrect/incomplete information has been furnished by the sender; articles are returned after import termination due to prohibited/restricted goods or incomplete documentation; or articles are returned due to addressee refusal or addressee having moved.
- 4. General Principles for refund of Postage
- (i) GST paid by the sender shall be refunded proportionately along with the admissible refund of postage.
- (ii) Wherever refund is allowed with deduction, such deduction shall represent operational and handling charges incurred by the Department.
- (iii) In the event of a refund of postage, any incentive, commission, or discount shall not be admissible on the articles found fit for the refund of postage to the sender (contractual or non-contractual).
- (iv) These guidelines shall apply to all International Parcel, EMS, ITPS and Registered Letter articles.
- 5. Sanctioning Authority
- (i) The Head of Postal/RMS Division or Head of the FPO, having jurisdiction over the booking office, shall be the Competent Authority for sanctioning the refund of postage and waiver of the return postage due charges.
- (ii) In cases involving lapses attributable to departmental officials, responsibility and recovery shall be determined by the competent authority i.e. Head of Postal/RMS Division or Head of FPO, after due examination of the facts.
- (iii) Recovery from foreign postal administrations, wherever applicable, shall be pursued by the mapped FPO/OE in coordination with DA Section and DAA Section in accordance with UPU regulations. The concerned FPOS to timely inform DA and DAA section regarding such cases.