Postal Manual Vol. VIII - India Post

(a) from the foreign postal administration of booking (-or from an intermediate
administration);
(b) from the sender in foreign country; and
(c) from the addressee in India.
cases.
The procedure for dealing with the complaint or enquiry is different in each of the above
2. Outward articles – (a) Complaints in respect of outward foreign articles received by a
Head of a circle should normally be transferred to the Superintendent of Post Offices or First Class
Postmaster concerned unless it is decided to take up enquiries direct. In the latter case the officer
receiving the complaint should enter it in the Complaint Register in the same way as in the case of
an inland complaint and then institute enquiries regarding its disposal within India in the same way
as for an inland article. If it is found that the article has been duly consigned by an office of
exchange to an office outside India he should, if he does not control that office, request the Head
of the circle controlling the office of exchange or the Directorate in special cases to take up the
matter with the foreign Administration concerned. It should be remembered that when enquiries
have to be made from foreign countries, replies take much longer to be received than in the inland
service.
(b) If, in any particular case, a request is receive from the office of exchange to address the
Foreign administration, as a routine enquiry is not considered by it to serve the purpose or no
replies are received to reclamation issued by the office of exchange, the Head of the Circle should
take up the case and address the Foreign Administration a formal letter in the matter or in special
cases refer the case to the directorate for taking it up.
3. Inward articles.- (a) Normally, in respect of an inward article, complaints should be
preferred by the sender to the Postal Administration of the country of origin. Complaints
addressed to the Indian Posts and Telegraph Department in such cases should normally be
disposed of by requesting the complaint to take up the matter with the country of origin. In special
cases, in which it is considered that there are very special reasons for this Department to entertain
such a complaint enquiries may be taken up with the administration of origin. In such cases, the
matter will be referred by the officer receiving the complaint or enquiry to the Head of the Circle
who will decide whether he should correspond on the subject direct with the Foreign
Administration concerned or refer the matter to the Director General for referring it to the foreign
country.
(b) In a large majority of cases, however, complaints and enquiries are received from the
postal Administration of the country of origin. Such enquiries may be in the form of routine
enquiries in the prescribed International standard from (“reclamation”) or regular letters, which in
most cases are addressed to the Director-General.
(c) An inward reclamation is intended for the office of exchange which first received the
article in India. It should be addressed to such an office but it is found that many reclamations are
received in the Director General’s office. When they are received in the Directorate, they are
transferred for disposal either to the head of the Circle in charge of the inward office of exchange
or to the officer in charge of that office direct. If, by any chance, a reclamation is transferred by
the directorate to some other authority, the latter should promptly pass it on to the office of
exchange concerned.
(d) in regard to complaints addressed by foreign countries to the Director-General or to
some other authority in India, replies to the foreign countries should be issued only by the Director
General or the Head of a Circle. In no case should any other authority correspond with the foreign