The government is losing out on foreign exchange receipts because international courier companies are eating into the Department of Posts (DoP’s) share of terminal dues.

Terminal dues are a form of payment that compensate postal administrations for processing and delivering letters and mail coming from other countries. They contributed Rs 34.9 crore to the country’s forex kitty in 2003.

But senior DoP sources told The Indian Express that the international companies are cutting down this revenue source by injecting their mail into the India Post system without paying dues.

“They (some international couriers) are injecting their mail into the postal system. We have won a legal ruling in this matter and the Universal Postal Union (UPU) has also given a ruling that they cannot do it,” the official said on condition of anonymity. He refused further details on the court ruling.

Sources estimate the loss of revenues to the exchequer on account of this illegal flow of letters at Rs 1,200 crore annually. DoP sources, however, pointed out that any member country of the UPU, must abide by basic quality standards that are not known or audited for the private parties.

“For example, when a mail comes from US and lands in Mumbai, some private couriers just place Indian postage stamps on their mail and then use our network to reach the final destination in India,” the official said.

The upshot is that DoP officials believe they are not only losing revenues, but also forcing the ordinary Indian postman into doing a tougher day’s work. “Once we formulate the right regulations and rules, it will stop,” the official said.

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