The Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, has released new operational guidelines for bulk customers of registered articles, aimed at enhancing customer facilitation and business ease. A bulk customer is defined as any entity providing a minimum business of Rs. 10,000 per month at a single booking office. The guidelines introduce an advance deposit facility for postage and the generation of bulk invoices. Customers must register by submitting an application, including identity and address proofs, GST number, and PAN or TAN, to the designated authority. Upon verification, a customer ID is created in the CRM portal, allowing bulk bookings exclusively through system software. Articles must include specific information such as the addressee’s details, barcode, and customer ID. Payment can be made at booking or via advance deposit, with a minimum initial deposit of Rs. 1,000. Monthly statements of invoices are generated and distributed to relevant parties. These guidelines aim to streamline processes and ensure compliance with existing laws and regulations, with records preserved for two years and reviewed regularly by higher authorities.
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No. 27-02/2024-PO
Government of India
Ministry of Communications
Department of Posts
(PO Division)
Dated: 16 July, 2024
OFFICE MEMORANDUM
Subject: Operational guidelines for Bulk customers of registered articles.
The Department of Posts has taken various steps/ initiatives for facilitation of its customers and providing ease of doing business through its vast network. from time to time. Taking this forward, the Department of Posts has decided to re-define the bulk customer, introduce the advance deposit facility of postage and generation of bulk invoice in respect of registered postal articles for the customers, keeping in view, the requirements put forth by the customers and field units after implementation of the direct taxation in the registered postal articles in the recent past.
2. Operational guidelines:
A Bulk customer in respect of Registered articles shall be any person or an entity who provides Rs. 10.000/- Rs. ten thousand only (exclusive of applicable taxes) worth of business of Registered article in a calendar month at a single booking office.
| Service | Registered articles |
| Minimum monthly revenue for eligibility as Bulk customer (at a single). | Rs. 10,000/- |
| Based on business requirement/competition, CPMG/PMG are empowered to revise limit on case-to-case basis. | |
| Place of booking | At identified booking office (at a single office) |
| Modes of payment | Advance deposit/ At the time of booking |
| Approving authority | Director of GPO/Divisional Head/Chief Postmaster/ Senior Postmaster/ Manager/In-charge of Business Processing Centre (BPC) (Group “B” or higher) |
3. Customer Registration:
3.1 The customer has to apply to the designated authority in the format prescribed at Annexure A for registering as a Bulk customer with Department of Posts to avail the service. along with the documents viz. Identity proof. address proof. GST number, PAN Card or TAN Number etc.
3.2 The bulk customer would identify the Booking Office from where he/she would render the registered articles for booking.
3.3 The designated authority of Office of Posting will receive the duly filled application form along with the necessary documents from the applicant. The designated authority shall, after due verification, acknowledge the application and would forward two copies of the application, along with relevant documents, to the approving authority with his/her recommendation.
Designated Authority:
3.4 The Designated authorities will be as follows:
| Office of Posting | Designated Authority |
| Sub Office | Officer in Charge |
| HO/ MDG (upto HSG — I) | Officer in Charge |
| HO/ GPO (Group 13′ & above) | Supervisor (APM/DPM) of Counter |
| RMS units/ MBC | HSA |
3.5 The approving authority shall examine the application and would approve/ reject the application and send one copy of the application duly approved/ rejected to the designated authority. The second copy of the application would be retained by the approving authority. The office of ‘Approving Authority’ would maintain the record of disposal of all such cases received along with copies of application sent by the designated authority. A register will be maintained at approving authority in the format given at Annexure D.
3.6 The approving authority shall be Director of GPO/Divisional Head/Chief Postmaster/ Senior Postmaster/ Manager/In-charge of Business Processing Centre (BPC) (Group “B” or higher).
3.7 The approving authority will allot customer code and send a copy to designated authority concerned and the customer.
3.8 The Approving Authority will arrange to create Customer ID by logging in CRM (Customer Relationship Management) portal using his/her credentials. The Customer ID should be communicated to the respective Designated Authority/booking office and customer along with the excel file format prescribed for bulk booking.
3.9 The Designated Authority shall enter Recharge Date, Customer ID, Payment Mode, Amount to recharge through System software. A receipt shall be generated and will be given to customer against payment received from him.
3.10 The Approving Authority will, after review the business of these customers, will arrange to delete the Customer IDs which have not provided any business for more than 3 (three) months. Approving Authority will arrange to make necessary entry in relevant column in the format given at Annexure D.
3.11 Credit facility and discount will not be available for the Bulk customers who avail the service.
3.12 Advance deposit customer will have to open a deposit account with minimum amount of Rs. 1,000/-.
4. Booking
4.1 All the booking of Bulk Customers shall be made through System software only. No manual booking is allowed.
4.2 Bulk customers have to present the consignments for booking at a single centre.
4.3 The Bulk Customer shall provide the articles along with booking data in the MS-Excel format prescribed for bulk booking.
4.4 Booking office shall issue a provisional receipt to the customer in lieu of number of articles in the format annexed as Annexure B.
4.5 Articles presented by Bulk Customer shall bear following information on the face of the article:
4.5.1 ‘Registered Bulk Article’ in superscription
4.5.2 Full name & address of the addressee with PIN code and Mobile number (if any)
4.5.3 Full name & address of sender and Mobile Number, if any
4.5.4 Barcode sticker pasted/printed as per allotted series by the booking office, if any.
4.5.5 Customer ID as allotted by the Department of Posts 4.5.6 Weight of article
4.6 Before uploading the softcopy provided by the customer, the booking PA shall check the physical articles to verify the actual weight of articles (physical or volumetric as the case may be) and the destination PINCODE with that noted on the soft copy provided by sender and also check all the articles to ensure that information as mentioned in para (6.4) above is furnished on the article.
4.7 Once articles are physically verified, the same will be booked in the system software and transferred to the dispatch branch for further processing and dispatch.
4.8 No individual (article-wise) receipt shall be generated for booking of articles handed over by the Bulk Customers. The consolidated receipt generated for the booking in system software should be printed and signed by the supervisor. A copy of the same should be handed over to the customer. One office copy should be retained till the preservation period.
4.9 The existing law, rules, regulations, instructions etc. on the subject shall
scrupulously be followed in respect of booking of the postal articles under this facility.
5. Payment options
5.1 Payment at the time of booking: Bulk customers who does not want to avail advance deposit account facility for booking of their articles, can make the payment at the time of booking. In such cases, articles shall be prepaid and the amount will be deposited against the Customer ID/Account created for the purpose.
5.2 Advance Deposit facility: Customer may opt to avail advance deposit facility. In such a case, Approving Authority will take necessary action to create Customer ID in CRM as detailed above. The amount of advance can be deposited in the designated Post Office. After confirmation of the credit particulars, the approving authority should credit the advance deposit amount in the CRM portal for Advance customer. Once balance in the account is approaching the threshold limit, customer will get it recharged. Such accounts can be recharged by paying either in cash, cheque/Demand Draft (subject to realization).
6. Monthly Statement
6.1 A monthly statement comprises of details of all the invoices /receipt generated against a particular customer, in a month shall be generated on the 1st of every month through the system software.
6.2 The copies of the statement shall be sent to all the concerned viz. Customer, Divisional Office, Head Post Office of payment Post Office, Approving Authority at once.
6.3 In the scenario of non-generation of statement in the System software, the billing office may provide manual statement with proper GST calculation and rounding off on the “Value of Supply” as per GST Act, to the Bulk customer.
6.4 The concerned HO will send the copy of statement in turn to Circle PAO along with monthly cash account for further necessary action.
7. Head of Accounts: –
7.1 Revenue realized from Bulk customer will be classified under the Existing Head of Accounts already opened /allotted for respective registered articles.
7.2 Role of different units of the Department relating to the Bulk customer as far as Accounting Procedure is concerned are given below.
8. Role of Booking Office
8.1 The Booking office shall maintain a separate Register (Annexure C) for all Bulk customers in which separate pages will be allotted for each customer. Day-to-day transactions for booking of articles will be incorporated customer-wise into their respective accounts. The pages of the register are to be numbered serially.
8.2 The booking office will prepare monthly statement (four copies) in respect of revenue realized under the scheme customer-wise. The booking Office will forward the copy of statement to Customer, Divisional Office, Post Office where the customer/ biller has desired to make the payment and one copy to HO. Concerned HO will send the copy of statement in turn to Circle PAO along with monthly cash account for further necessary action.
Role of Account Office/Circle Office/Postal Account Office:
8.3 All information is available in the system software for viewing by Accounts Officer, CO & DAP.
9. Preservation / Inspection of records
All the records pertaining to the Bulk customers will be preserved for two years after the closure of the account.
10. Review
Regional Postmaster General and Chief Postmaster General would review the bulk bookings of the registered articles in their Region/ Circle.
11. Standard Accounting Procedure (SAP) for advance customers and GL Accounts for the registered articles are also implemented in the system software. The clearance of customer balances for advance deposits is automated.
12. This issues with the approval of competent authority.
(Gokul C V)
ADG (PO)
To:
1. All Heads of Circles/Addl. DG, APS
2. CGM (BD) /CGM (PLI)/CGM(Parcel)/Director (RAKNPA)
3. GM CEPT with request to modify the system software, if required, in tune with revised guidelines for Bulk customer for registered articles.
4. All Regional PMsG
5. All DDsG in Postal Directorate/Secretary (PSB)
6. All Directors in Postal Training Center
7. All BPCs
Copy to:
1. PPS to Secretary (Posts)
2. PPS to DG (Posts)
3. PPS to Members
Annexure A
Application for enrolling as Bulk customer for registered article
To.
The Designated authority
Sir/ Madam.
I would like to avail following services of the Department of Posts and to be registered as Bulk customer for registered articles.
| Name of the service | Registered Articles | |
| Booking Office | ||
| Mode of Payment | Advance deposit
At the time of booking |
|
| Whether Central/ State Government Ministry/ Department/ Nationalised Bank/ Scheduled Bank/ PSU | YES NO | |
| Nature of the firm* | Registered/ Partnership/ Sole proprietor/ individual/ others (please specify) | |
| PAN/ TIN/ CIN/ Aadhaar Card* | ||
| GST Number | ||
| Registered Office* | ||
| Address where articles will be generated |
||
| Address of correspondence | ||
| Contact details | Name: Complete address with PIN Code: Ph. No. Fax (if any): Mobile No. Email id: |
|
| Approx. number of registered articles to be booked in each month and postage payable for them | ||
| Any other facility viz pre-mailing etc required (please specify)** |
||
| Date: | Place: | Authorised Signatory*: |
*please provide supporting document.
**subject to provision for same
Note: These KYC documents may be collected from customers requiring bulk booking facility for registered articles.
DECLARATION
I, …. declares that
1. No article, transmission of which is prohibited for transmission as per the instructions issued by the Department from time to time, or any law of land, is presented for booking.
2. The registered articles shall be prepared, packed and made up as prescribed by the Department. The contents, shape and size of the articles shall be according to the provisions and conditions provided for and as notified by the Department from time to time.
3. Such documents / records, which may be prescribed by the Department shall be filled up correctly to enable it to book, convey and deliver the articles expeditiously.
4. The expected monthly postage on booking of registered articles come to Rs.
5 In case customer fails to provide minimum business prescribed for a Bulk customer for three consecutive months, facility of bulk booking will be withdrawn.
6. All rules and orders etc. brought out by the Department from time to time on the subject shall be strictly adhered to.
7. Any claim of the customer shall not be adjusted against the amount payable to the Department.
8. The Sender understands that registered article is not an insured service unless expressly provided and liability of registered article is limited to the provisions of existing laws of the land and law governing the Post Offices.
9. In case of any legal implications, the same should be dealt only in the jurisdiction of office of booking.
10. The Sender shall post its articles at……..Office.
11. The Department shall raise the registered articles charges statement (for deposit account customers) by 7th of every month in respect of all registered consignments booked by the sender in the preceding month showing the balance available in his account and amount utilized.
|
For Office Use a) It is certified that the information as given above have been verified with the supporting documents and found correct b) Recommended for providing Advance deposit facility// payment at the time of booking [please tick appropriate option] c) Not Recommended due to following reasons (strike-off, if not applicable):- (i) (ii) Signature of Designated Authority |
| a) The Application is hereby approved for providing Advance deposit facility/ payment at the time of booking [please tick appropriate option]
b) The Application is hereby rejected due to following reasons (strike-off if not applicable):- (i) (ii) Signature of Approving Authority |
Annexure B
Format of provisional receipt issued for number of article received from bulk customer
| No. | Date:—–/—/—- | Name of Office:—— | |||
| Customer ID and Name ——— | |||||
| Customer Type Advance Payment/At the Time of Booking | |||||
| Received following articles (No. of articles): | |||||
| No. of Article | Registered | Insured | Total | Bar Code
Number to |
|
| This is a provisional receipt and is being issued to——(name of customer and lD) against the receipt of number of articles on dated—–in——-(name of Booking Office).
Receipt of articles do not mean as articles have been booked on the day of receipt. The articles will be booked after examination in respect of size and weight (physical or volumetric). |
|||||
| Name of the issuing office
Name Designation Date |
|||||
Annexure C
Daily account of Customer (Name of Customer) of dated__________________ Bulk Customer
Date |
Name
|
Account Number |
Amount Depo sited a nd date |
No. of articles rendered by the customer |
Total postage |
GST applicable |
Data received in soft copy (YIN) |
Amount |
Remarks |
||
CGST
|
GST
|
IGST (inter-state supply) |
|||||||||
(Signature of Incharge of Booking office along with seal)
Annexure D
Register to be maintained at Office of Approving Authority
SI. No. |
Name
|
Application received from Customer on (Date) |
Status |
Remarks |
|||||
Office and design ation of approving authority |
Date of forwarding the applic ation to app roving authority |
Date of receipt of appli cation from approving authority |
Approved / Rejected with reasons |
Date of commun ication of acceptance/ rejection sen to the customer |
If approved Bulk Customer account no. allotted |
||||
(Signature of
Supervisor/Manager)
(Signature of PA)
Annexure E
MONTHLY STATEMENT OF REGISTERED ARTICLE BOOKING ACCEPTED FROM BULK CUSTOMER MAINTAINED AT BOOKING OFFICE
Name of the Booking
Office:
Name of the Customer:
Month:
| No. of articles received in the month | RE:3ISTERED ARTCLES revenue for consignments |
||
| (1) | (2) | ||
| (3) | GST Applicable as applicable on (2)
CGST & SGST CGST & UTGST IGST (inter-state supply) |
||
| (1) | Net amount payable | (2) + (3) | |
To:-
Divisional/ Reporting office
Copy to –
Regional Office
