Guidelines for Refund of Postage Charges – International Mail Articles

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

Refund admissible in three cases:

(A) Recall of Article by Sender

• Sender may recall article before Customs assessment/examination.
• No recall fee charged.
• 70% of postage refunded.

(B) Non-transmission of Articles

• Refund admissible if India Post unable to transmit article due to reasons not attributable to sender.
• Suspension of Services: 100% refund, return postage waived (natural disasters, war, strikes, airline disruption, policy restrictions).
• Return by Indian Customs/Security Agencies: 50% refund if returned for non-airworthiness, prohibited contents, incomplete documentation.
• No Response from Sender: Returned without refund if sender fails to respond to Customs queries for >3 months.
• Loss/Damage: Settled as per compensation provisions (OM No. CF-71/29/202-CF-DOP dated 29.04.2022 & SOP dated 04.03.2025).

(C) Return of Article by Destination Country

• Refund admissible for technical/system issues, incorrect ITMATT data, oversize/overweight, missing CN22/CN23 forms.
• Sender Error: No refund, return postage collected.
• Counter Staff Error: 100% refund, recovery from staff/supervisor.
• System Faults: Full refund, no recovery from staff.
• Oversize/Overweight: 50% refund if staff failed to check; recovery from staff/supervisor.
• Missing CN22/CN23: Inquiry conducted; refund and recovery decided case-to-case.
• Destination Postal Administration Error: Full refund if sender opts for return.

3. Cases Where Refund Not Admissible

• Incorrect/incomplete info furnished by sender.
• Returned due to prohibited/restricted goods or incomplete documentation.
• Returned due to addressee refusal or relocation.

4. General Principles

• GST refunded proportionately.
• Deduction represents operational/handling charges.
• Incentives/commissions/discounts not admissible on refunded articles.
• Applies to International Parcel, EMS, ITPS, Registered Letters.

5. Sanctioning Authority

• Head of Postal/RMS Division or Head of FPO is competent authority.
• Recovery from officials if lapses attributable.
• Recovery from foreign postal administrations pursued via UPU regulations.
• SOP (Annexure-A) to be followed.

6. Technical Development

• CEPT to automate refund process in APT 2.0.

7. Applicability

• Effective for shipments booked on or after 01.04.2025.
• Read with Post Office Regulations, 2024.