Short Notes of Postal Manual Volume Vol 5 - Chapter 1

Postal Manual Volume 5

Chapter 1 - Definitions

Rule 1 – Postmaster-General

Principal Chief PMG, Chief PMG, PMG, or Director of Postal Services, including any officer exercising PMG powers.

Rule 2 – Railway Mail Service (RMS)

Responsible for carriage of mails by rail, road, river, and air, and for collection/distribution of mails from Post/Mail Offices.

Rule 4 – Superintendent

Chief Officer in charge of a Postal Division or RMS Division. Subordinate to Head of Circle/Region.

Rule 5 – Head Office

Main office of a group of Post Offices, with sub and branch offices under its accounts jurisdiction.

Rule 6 – General Post Office (GPO)

First-class Head Office at Circle HQ, supervised by Chief Postmaster (Senior Time Scale Officer).

Rule 7 – Sub Post Office

Subordinate to a Head Office; transactions incorporated in Head Office accounts. Town sub-office: located in a town with a Head Office.

Rule 8 – Branch Office

Lower status than sub-office, directly accountable to Head/Sub-office. Town branch office: located in a town with a Head Office.

Rule 9 – Transit Offices

• 9a – Transit Office: Forwards unopened bags (forward bags) to reduce loose bags.
• 9b – Transit Mail Office (TMO): RMS branch handling closed bags only; no letter sorting.
• 9c – CTMO: Computerized Transit Mail Office.

Rule 10 – Sorting Office

Receives articles for sorting to simplify work, reduce bag exchanges, and mail weight.

Rule 10a – AMPC

Automatic Mail Processing Centers in Delhi and Kolkata for high-speed sorting.

Rule 11 – Sorting Sub-office

Sub-office near mail junctions, serving as Sorting Office for specific routes.

Rule 11a – Nodal Post Office

Authorized to receive/sort letters from neighboring offices to reduce peak-hour pressure.

Rule 11b – Central Bagging Unit

RMS branch grouping bundles into direct bags (L & R bags).

Rule 12 – Returned Letter Office (RLO)

At Circle HQ; handles unclaimed, refused, or undecipherable articles.

Rule 12a – Transcription Centre

Transcribes regional language addresses into English.

Rule 13 – Offices of Exchange

• 13a – Office of Exchange: Exchanges mails with foreign offices.
• 13b – Office of Exchange of Transit: Border office handling closed bags only.
• 13c – Foreign Post Office: Exchange office assessing customs duty on foreign mails.
• 13d – Sub-Foreign Post Office: Non-exchange office handling customs examination and duty accounting.

Rule 14 – Transit Sections

Traveling RMS offices on rail/river routes; managed by Mail Guard/Agent.

Rule 15 – Mail Offices

• Sorting Mail Offices: Handle bag contents and forward bags.
• Transit Mail Offices: Handle closed bags only.

Rule 15a–15c – Specialized Offices

• Corporate Mail Office (CMO)/Bulk Mail Centre: For bulk mailers.
• Mass Mailing Centre (MMC): Assistance centers for large-volume customers.
• Press Sorting Office (PSO): Located at newspaper premises; costs borne by publisher.

Rule 16–18a – Record & Bag Offices

• Record Office: Prepares, checks, records work-papers.
• Head Record Office: At RMS HQ; also handles salary/accounts.
• Sub-record Office: At Mail Office station; prepares/records work-papers.
• Bag Offices: UBO, DBO, CBO, Central Bag Office for bag accounting.

Rule 19–54 – Staff, Bundles, Bags & Mails

• Sorting Assistants: RMS staff excluding supervisors/guards.
• Sets & Trips: Defined working groups and journeys.
• Station & Sorting Articles: Articles for delivery or forwarding.
• Bundles: Labelled, registered, insured, parcel bundles.
• Bags: Mail, airmail, registered, parcel, insured, transit, account, branch office, cash, special, camp bags.
• Orders: ‘A’ Orders (sorting changes), ‘B’ Orders (guidance), TB Orders (camp disposal).
• Due vs Unusual Mails: Daily/regular vs special/occasional bags.
• Other Terms: Work-papers, changing stations, connecting sections, overtime duty, rest houses, cage TB, press packets, face/facing.