Postal Manual Vol. VIII - India Post

Head Offices which are not under the administrative control of any Superintendent of Post
Offices should submit their statement of balances (Pa16) direct to Circle Office for scrutiny, etc.
After the statement has been scrutinised in the Circle Office, it should be forwarded by the Circle
Office to the Superintendent or Senior Supdt., of Post Offices concerned by whom the balances of
the Head Office concerned are periodically verified.
(2) The Superintendent must make every report of excess cash balance received from
the Head Office in respect of a Sub Office the subject of prompt and careful enquiry except when
the Supdt. knows from his personal knowledge that they are genuine. He must make an enquiry
either himself or through the Inspector as early as possible. It should be remembered that frequent
retention of cash-balance by a sub-postmaster indicates either that the maximum cash balance
requires revision or that it has been want only exceeded or that fictitious liabilities have been
shown in.
(3) Whenever the details of the balance of a sub-office, as entered in the daily account,
show, that the amount held in stamps, or presented by the postage due on articles in deposit, is
largely in excess of the maximum limit fixed for stamps, or the daily average amount of postage on
articles in deposit during the preceding month, as the case may be, a special report on the subject
will be received by the Superintendent from the postmaster of the head office concerned. On
receipt of such a report the Superintendent must make prompt enquiries at the sub-office, either
himself or through the Inspector, in order to satisfy himself that the sub-postmaster has not been
retaining excessive cash balances while showing the excess under the head of “Stamps” or
“Postage due on articles in deposit”.
NOTE.- When the total of the liabilities of a sub-office exceeds the maximum cash
balance fixed for the office, the sub-postmaster will be justified in retaining a cash balance equal to
the total of the liabilities only, except when he has good reason to believe that he will be required
to meet further liabilities before he can collect further funds in the ordinary way, in which case he
may keep cash equal to the amount of the existing liabilities plus the minimum cash balance fixed
for the office.
151. Custody of cash in Branch Offices.- The Superintendent may order a safe to be
supplied to any branch office in the Division for custody of cash and valuables. It may not
however, be necessary to supply a safe to every Extra Departmental Branch Office, but in any case
in which the Inspector reports that one is required, the Superintendent may order that an iron safe
or a chest should be supplied. The method of securing it will be the same as indicated in Rule 120.
Offices having comparatively a large cash balance should be authorised to have a safe and others a
chest. In sanctioning safes it should be taken into account whether the Extra Departmental office is
authorised to perform Savings Bank or Insurance work, whether it is located in an unsafe locality
and whether the valuables and cash generally kept in the office would justify the safe or not.
151-A. Custody of cash in Extra Departmental sub-offices.- Every Extra Departmental
Sub-Office will be supplied with a cash chest or safe for custody of cash and valuables. The
method of securing the chest and safe will be the same as indicated in rule 120.
151-B. The Superintendent of Post Offices may authorise the supply of iron safes to Head
Offices and Sub-Offices. He may sanction supply to any Head Office of two or more safes and
also of scales for weighing cash. He may also authorise the supply of strong wooden chests or
almirahs or sheet iron almirahs for storage of postcards and envelopes in offices where they
cannot, on account of their bulk, be kept in safes. The method of securing it will be the same as
indicated in Rule 120.
152. Deleted.