The duties and responsibilities of Postmen are laid down in Postal Manual Volume VI Part-III which also applies to Gramin Dak Sewaks Delivery Agents with some exceptions. The restrictions on the maximum amount and the type of articles that can be entrusted to them for delivery are laid down in rule 572/A of Postal Manual Volume IV. However, some of the important duties are as follows:
- Postmen are expected to know thoroughly the rates of inland postage and commission of money order, the charges for insurance and the fee for registration. They should be fully competent to fill up the forms with which the public has ordinarily to deal, especially M.O.s and forms relating to the VP item and be able to describe the principal features and charges of the SB post office certificate, MO registration and other postal systems.
- When a postman proceeds to his beat, he should carry with him in the postman bag, required forms and supply them to the public when required.
- Each postman who is required to sell MO form and stamps, will be supplied by the treasurer with a small stock of MO forms and postage stamps of lower denominations (including post cards, letter cards and envelopes) for sale to the public and he should give the treasurer a receipt for the MO forms and stamps in the memo of stamp advances, against the entry of his name. The money realized from the sale of MO forms and postage stamps should be made over by the postman, on his return to the office, to the treasurer, who will give the postman a fresh supply of MO forms and stamps equal to the amount in MO Forms and stamps to be issued to each postman.
- Every Postman must keep a Postman Book MS 27, in which, before proceeding to his beat, he should enter the particulars of Money Orders, Registered (including Insured) articles entrusted to him for delivery along with the class of article, name of the addressee on articles, date of booking / issue, acknowledgement if attached with the article. Details of damaged articles etc. The Postal Assistants of the concerned Departments should see that entries are prepared properly. On return, the Postman should take initial of concerned Postal Assistant in the said Book. The Postman should give acknowledgement of cash received by him for payment of money orders.
- Note: The particulars of articles given for delivery under the “Delivery Slip” system are not to be entered in Postman Book. The delivery slip serves the purpose of this book and should be filed in the delivery department at the close of the day.
- It is Postman’s duty to fully examine every article made over to him for delivery, bring at once to the notice of postmaster any article that is damaged or that bears the appearance to have been tempered with. Special care must be taken to observe the conditions of insured articles.
- It is the duty of Postman to sign the required documents in post office under which articles and cash has been entrusted to him for delivery / payment.
- The intimations and notices to be delivered by the postman shall be entered in the postman book by concerned Postal assistants.
- Each postman’s beat is fixed by the postmaster, and he must on no account deviate from the beat prescribed. He is required to deliver, if possible, before he returns to the post office, all the articles entrusted to him for delivery to persons residing within the limits of his beat.
- Note: Postmen, while on duty, are prohibited from distributing advertisements, handbills, trade circulars or notices of any description on behalf of the members of public.
- If the addressee of an article cannot be found at the given address, enquiry regarding his changed address should be made from the neighbors. If trustworthy information can be obtained, the postman should deliver the article at the new address, if it is in his beat, or make a note of the new address on the article, so that it may be made over to another postman at the next delivery, or redirected to another post-town, as the case may be. If sufficient information regarding the addressee cannot be obtained, the article should be returned to the postmaster as unclaimed.
- If the addressee of a VP article taken out by the postman for delivery is at home when the postman calls and does not at once take delivery of it, the postman should require the address to sign the receipt attached to the intimation to the addressee and receipt shall be pasted in the postman’s book of receipts for intimations and notices delivered, against an entry of No. of the article to which it relates.
- If the addressee of a VP article taken out by the postman for delivery is residing at the address marked on the article but is not at home when the postman calls, the postman should write a remark to that effect on the article. If the addressee is not at home or delivery of the article cannot be effected when the article is given out for delivery for the second time, the postman should deliver the intimation to an adult member of the address’s household or any other person who may be considered to be authorized to received ordinary correspondence for the address, under receipt to be obtained in the postman’s book of receipts for intimations and notices delivered, against an entry of the No. of the article to which it relates, which he should make in the book at the time. If the person to whom the intimation is to be delivered is illiterate, the postman should write the name of that person in his books of receipts for intimations and notices delivered and deliver the intimation in the presence of witness whose signature should be obtained in the book.
- A postman is forbidden to deliver any article on which any postage or customs duty is due, or any sum is to be recovered (as in case of a VP article) until the full amount to be recovered has been paid. He is obliged to give change. If any unnecessary delay occurs in payment by the addressee of the charges recoverable on an article, the postman is authorized to take the article back to the post office.
- Postman will be held responsible that receipts and acknowledgements for registered and insured articles of the letter and parcel mails delivered are in every case signed by the addressee or some other person authorized to received such articles on his behalf. They would require the addressee or their agents to sign the receipts and acknowledgements (if any) and return the signed documents to them before delivery. An article should not be left with the addressee or their agent until the receipt has been duly signed and returned. No receipts are taken from the addressees of unregistered parcels.
- Postman will be held responsible that receipts and acknowledgements for registered and insured articles of the letter and parcel mails delivered are in every case signed by the addressee or some other person authorized to received such articles on his behalf. They require the addressee or their agents to sign the receipts and acknowledgements (if any) and return the signed documents to them before delivery. An article should not be left with the addressee or their agent until the receipt has been duly signed and returned. No receipts are taken from the addressees of unregistered parcels.
- The postman shall observe the procedure laid down in various rules for delivery of postal article including the money orders) to illiterate addressees, woman, minors, lunatics and persons without fingers etc.
- If a postman loses a money order, insured article, a registered article of the letter mail, or any parcel mail article, he should return immediately to the post office report the loss to the postmaster. If any other article is lost by the postman, the fact should be reported by him on his return to the post office.
- Postmen are required to return to the concerned postal assistant, at the hour fixed by the Postmaster, all the article that they have been unable to deliver, A postman may in no circumstances keep an article in his possession more than twenty-four hours. When a paid unregistered article or a registered article of the letter or parcel mail or a money order entered in the postman’s book (M-27) is brought back undelivered or unpaid, a remark stating why it was not delivered or paid should be written briefly but legibly on the address side by the postman who should also note under his dated initials his number (beat number) on the article and copy the remarks in his book or on the delivery slip. If there are reasonable grounds to believe that a return article can be delivered at the next delivery, it may, after examination, be handed back to the postman.
- Undelivered unregistered articles of the letter mail must be returned by the postman to the postmaster or to the official to whom this duty of the postmaster has been delegated.
- Note: If the addressee of a VP article refuses to take delivery of the intimation relating to the article, when it is presented to the addressee, the postman should note this fact under his dated initials as well as his number (beat) on the intimation.
- The postage due on articles of the letter mail returned by each postman will be entered in the postage account by the postmaster. The postman must pay the amount of this balance at once in cash to the treasurer.
- The charges realized on registered parcels delivered should be paid to the treasurer according to the procedure laid down in the relevant Rules. Postmen are prohibited on pain of removal from paying the sums on account of postage, postal fee or customs duty to the delivery or parcel Assistant. The sums realized on account of VP articles delivered should be paid to the Assistant (registration or parcel), by whom the VP articles were made over for delivery, should give his receipt in the postman’s books.
- A postman who willingly detains or delays any postal article in his possession or who returns an article falsely representing it as undeliverable renders itself liable to serve penalties under the Indian Post Office Act.
- A postman found guilty of habitually loitering on his beat, or employing the agency of unauthorized person, or person unconnected with the Post Office to deliver articles entrusted to him for delivery, or otherwise neglecting his duty is liable to removal or prosecution in a Court of Law under the Post Offices Act.
