what is post box

POST BOX

“41 Paisa per day, secure your privacy each day”, avail the Post Box.

!————-‐

Research ar7cle by www.na7onalconcerns.com in associa7on with www.r7india.org

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http://www.nationalconcerns.com

http://www.rtiindia.org

http://www.nationalconcerns.com

My Address a:er I have a PO?

!!Isn’t it cool! Now let us see how you can get a Post Box from India

Post.

Le>er box Vs Post Box? Are they same? NO. LeHer Box is for outgoing mails whereas Post box

is for incoming mails.

You deposit your mails in the ‘LeHer Box’

addressed to somebody else whereas “Post Box’

is your private address on which others send you

the mails.

‘LeHer Box’ is iden7fied as typical red colour

boxes placed across the city, whereas ‘Post Box’

can only be seen inside the wall of a post office Page � of �2 9Always visit nationalconcerns.com

“YOUR NAME”

Post Box No ......................

Post office of Delivery .......................

Postal Index Number (PIN) ……………………

something similar to the bank lockers.

Why rent a PO Box? • Privacy – Your home address is just that, your home. With a PO

Box, you can keep your home address private. PuZng your

private home address on forms, applica7ons, Internet orders

and so on compromises your privacy because the address can be

added to searchable databases, mailing lists and other

publica7ons without your knowledge. By using a post box

address instead, you safeguard your private home address.

RTI and Post Box: In the recent decision of Avishek Goenka Vs

Union of India, High Court of Kolkata in writ pe77on No. 33290

of 2013 dated 20.11.2013 has “allowed the use of Post Box in


filing RTI which shall enable contact of a user with the authority

without revealing personal details of the informa7on seeker”.

• ConfidenKality – Since you have control of the keys to your PO

Box, important documents and personal communica7ons stay

confiden7al. With a post office box, your mail cannot be

tampered with or stolen like it can be in a mailbox at your home.

Since you're the only person who has a key, you can maintain

complete confiden7ality.

• Efficiency – A PO Box makes it easy to separate business mail

from personal mail. The Post office shall accept packages for

you, so you don’t have to worry about missing a delivery. If you

move (within the city), you won’t have to change your address

or anything that has your business address on it.

• Accessibility & Security – Control when and where you get your

mail. A PO Box gives you an easy way to control who sees your

delivered mail. Many Post Office loca7ons have extended

business hours.

Eligibility for a Post Box? • Any person (including a firm or other body) can avail this service;

•A r 7 c l e s a d d r e s s e d t o

legi7mate personnel of a firm

ren7ng a post box and ar7cles


addressed to family members and guests of the renter can also

avail this facility.

• The post box holders who receive a large quan7ty of mail which

cannot be conveniently put into the post box may rent an

addi7onal post box on the same terms and condi7ons but with the

same post box number so that the en7re mail may be placed inside

post box instead of keeping a por7on of the mail under or above or

away from the Post Box cabinet.

What does Post Box Delivers? • Only leHers, inland leHer cards, postcards, aerogrammes, registered

newspapers, books of the post bearing the Post Box No. are

delivered through post box.

•Registered, insured, V.P. ar7cles as

also money orders addressed payable

to the par7cular person or firm in

whose name the post box stands

registered will be delivered/paid

through the postman, so long the person/firm rents the Post Box

!

Where is the Post Box available?


• Post Box is available in most of the delivery post offices across

India. A delivery post office is the one from where the Postman

come out for delivery of leHers. Very broadly Head Post Offices or

the HSG Sub Post Offices of a District may have the Post Box facility.

• It can also be ascertained from outside the post office wall, as at

some place the wall shall have the boxes where the keys can be

placed (Something like a bank locker).

• The decision of which post office shall have Post Box facility rest

with the State (In Postal Department they are called ‘Circle Head’)

Head, i.e. Chief Postmaster General. He sits at the state capital and

can be contacted in case of further informa7on.

Which Post Box to choose? • You should primarily be given a Post box in the jurisdic7on of post

office who deliver mails at your address. Therefore you should have

a postal address in the delivery zone of the par7cular post office

where you have rented a post box.

NOTE :-‐ In towns where there is more than

one delivery office and the Post Box facili7es

are not available in all delivery office Post

Box may be rented in any post office where

such facili7es may be available irrespec7ve

of the considera7on of the delivery jurisdic7on. If and when Post


Box facili7es are provided subsequently at other offices the holders

of Post Box facili7es will have the op7on to shin the Post Box

facili7es provided in their own delivery jurisdic7on.

• You do not have any choice in the number alloca7on of a Post box.

How to rent a Post Box? • You should submit an applica7on in wri7ng in the form prescribed

for the purpose to the Postmaster concerned;

• You should specifically state in the applica7on the exact nature of

the business which should be duly cer7fied by two respectable

gentlemen not connected with you in any way and furnish full

par7culars of your business address. (This will not be insisted upon

in case of Government and semi-‐Government ins7tu7ons and such

private par7es as are either known to the Postmaster or have

otherwise established their iden7ty to the sa7sfac7on of the

Postmaster.);

• When the Postmaster allots a post box to a renter, the laHer is

supplied with a delivery 7cket which will be produced by him or his

messenger on demand. The 7cket bears the same number as that

alloHed to the post box and is not transferable.

•Post boxes are available on rent at most of the Delivery Post offices

(where the postmen goes out of delivery) in the town areas.


•The prescribed rent is to be paid in advance along with the

applica7on for ren7ng a post box or for renewal thereof. As of now

the rent to avail Post Box is Rs. 150/-‐ per year or 50/-‐ per quarter.

•You can clear your post box at any 7me during the business hours of

the post office.

CondiKons of Post Box? • If any informa7on furnished by you is found to be incorrect, or if it

is found that the Post Box is being misused your services can be

terminated;

• In case you are changing your business address or shining office to

another place, you should invariably inform the Postmaster of the

change within seven days of such change;

• The period of rental of a post box commences from the first day of

month in which the post box is alloHed and the period of renewal

of rental commences from the first day of the month immediately

succeeding the period of previous rental.

• If the renter of a post box does not clear it for a week, a no7ce

requiring him to clear it for a week, a no7ce requiring him to clear

it, will be sent by the Postmaster by registered post; and when the

ar7cles are not cleared even aner this no7ce, they will be delivered

through the postman if the postal ar7cles bear the address of the

renter or he has given instruc7ons to this effect.


• If for any reasons the ar7cles cannot be delivered through the

postman in the normal manner, they will be treated as

undeliverable and disposed of in the manner prescribed for such

ar7cles.

!References: • Post Office Guide Part -‐ 1 (Downloaded from India Post website, available here: hHp://

www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Manuals/PO_Guide_Part-‐1.pdf )

• www.r7india.org for DoPT Circular: hHp://r7.cc/postbox

• The Indian Post Office Act 1898


what is post box

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