Refresher Questions for Exam Preparation (Set - 1)

 Volume VI Part I & Miscellaneous Rules - 7

Check on Clearance of Letter Boxes
• The Postmaster should test the punctual clearance of outside letter boxes by mailing test letters addressed to themselves and recording the outcome in their order book.
• They must ensure that hour plates are changed punctually and correctly.
• The Postmaster should occasionally check articles cleared from letter boxes by the letter box peon/MTS/GDS to detect instances of stamp removal or the use of used or faked postage stamps.
• If any article is found with removed, used, or faked postage stamps, an immediate investigation should be launched to identify the offender.
• The Postmaster should frequently check the office letter box to ensure punctual clearance.
• They should ensure that letter box attendants leave the office for their beats and return at fixed times.
• The Postmaster must insist that the Sorting Assistant strictly adheres to the rules for immediate stamping and removal of cleared articles to the Sorting case.

Article Reposted by the Public
• If a delivered article is reposted with a revised address within the local limits of the post town of delivery, or returned unopened to a postman/village postman, it is to be treated as a redirected article, and no additional postage should be charged.
• If an article has been opened and then reposted or returned to the postman, or if it is reposted outside the local limits of the post town of delivery, it should be treated as a wholly unpaid article and taxed accordingly.
• Postal articles reposted long after delivery without any address change, especially postcards, should be thoroughly examined during the sorting of letter box clearances.
• If a postal article (especially a postcard) is found to have been delivered earlier and reposted without any address change (within or outside local limits of delivery), it should be treated as an unpaid article and delivered to the addressee after being duly taxed.

Window Delivery Tickets
• Window delivery tickets (Form M-24) permit the holder to receive delivery at a post office window, in a locked bag, of all fully prepaid, unregistered letters, postcards, newspapers, and packets addressed to them.
• The prescribed fee should be collected from the applicant and credited to the office's "Unclassified receipts" account.
• Particulars of window delivery tickets must be entered in the register of window delivery tickets (Form M-23), and the tickets should be numbered consecutively.
• Each ticket must legibly record the holder's name and address, the issue date, and the assigned register number.
• Before window delivery is provided, the Head Postmaster (HPM)/Sub Postmaster (SPM) must verify that the correct fee has been credited and accurate entries are made in the register, then initial the remarks column of the register.
• Applications for window delivery tickets received at subordinate offices will be forwarded to the Head Office (HO), with an entry in the SO/BO daily account.
• Upon receiving an application from a subordinate office, the Head Postmaster should complete and sign the ticket form and dispatch it, entered in the SO/BO slip, for delivery to the purchaser.

Delivery to Public Officers
• Articles superscribed "on India Government service" that include both the name and official designation of a public officer should be delivered or redirected according to the official designation, even if the person no longer holds the appointment or has left the station.
• Similarly superscribed articles that do not contain the official designation in the address should be delivered or redirected according to the addressee's name.
• Articles without the "on India Government service" superscription, but containing both the name and official designation in the address, should be delivered or redirected by name; if the name is absent, they should be delivered according to the official designation.
• Clear instructions from a public officer for separate delivery of private and official correspondence should be followed as far as practicable. In the absence of specific instructions, this principle should guide the separation of articles for delivery at the office and the official's private residence.
Checking of Undeliverable Articles Returned by Postman
• The Postmaster should check undeliverable articles returned by Postmen, ensuring that the Postman’s number and the reasons for non-delivery are noted on each returned article.
• Before placing any such article in deposit as unclaimed, the Postmaster must be satisfied that it is genuinely undeliverable.
• If not satisfied, the article should be sent out again by another Postman or the Head Postman.
• If delivery is then successfully effected, the Postmaster should hold the Postman who originally returned the article as undeliverable accountable.
• The result of this test should be recorded by the Postmaster in their order book.
Examination of Articles in Deposit Case in Detail
• The Postmaster should frequently examine articles about to be placed in deposit, as well as those already in deposit, to ensure they are not unnecessarily detained.
• All refused articles should be sent to the Returned Letter Office (RLO) or returned to the offices of posting by the first mail, and unclaimed articles immediately after the prescribed period expires.
• They should also occasionally examine redirected articles to verify that the redirection process was carried out in the prescribed manner.
• The results of these examinations should be noted in their order book.

Letter Postage Account
• In head offices, or large sub-offices specifically authorized by Heads of Circles, the postage due on all unregistered letter mail articles received for delivery (whether taxed by the posting office, head office, or sub-offices) will be entered by the Postmaster or Sub-Postmaster in the letter postage account (Form AGG 44), and the article will then be disposed of.

Book of Addressees' Instructions
• In offices that do not use the "Instruction Slips" procedure, written instructions from the public regarding redirection of postal articles, and the delivery of registered articles and payment of Money Orders to authorized agents, are recorded by the Deposit Assistant in Form M-32, known as the "Book of Addressee’s Instructions".
• The initials of the Assistant in charge of the concerned departments should be obtained against the entry.
• In each book, a few pages are allotted for each letter of the alphabet, and the gist of the instructions is recorded briefly and clearly in the ‘purport of instructions’ column.
• All instructions are communicated to the postmen and the relevant department.
Temporary Instructions (Book of Addressees' Instructions)
• Residents can provide written intimation regarding a change in their residential or official address to the concerned post office for delivery of items to the new address.
• Such intimation remains valid for a period not exceeding three months.

Permanent Instructions (Book of Addressees' Instructions)
• Instructions received from addressees authorizing the post office to deliver articles or pay money orders to persons other than themselves[cite: 357].
• Such intimation also remains valid for a period not exceeding three months.
Instruction Slip
• Members of the public provide written instructions concerning the delivery and redirection of their postal articles.
• In large offices, these instructions are communicated to the relevant departments and town Sub Offices in the form of an ‘Instruction Slip’, which provides the gist of the instructions.
• Instruction slips are prepared in duplicate using a carbonic process. The carbon copy for each department is sent to the Head Assistant, who retains it and returns the original acknowledging the carbon copy.
• Upon return from the departments, the original instruction slip should be filed with the original letters of instruction.
• The letters of instruction should be secured in daily bundles.
• Letters of instruction intended for Town Offices should be transferred to the registration department under acquaintance for dispatch to the concerned office by the first mail.