Postal Products, Services and Rates
The exam checks whether you can match a customer need to the right product and then build the charge from its parts, instead of quoting a single half-remembered figure.
Mail services
- Speed Post: time-bound, tracked, with a money-back guarantee if delivery misses the notified norm and compensation for loss, subject to conditions.
- Registered Post: proof of posting and a delivery record, an optional Acknowledgement Due card, and compensation up to the prescribed maximum.
- Insured Post: contents covered up to the declared value within the insurance ceiling; special packing and sealing are compulsory.
- Value Payable Post and Cash on Delivery: the addressee pays the value before delivery and the amount is remitted to the sender.
Financial and retail products
- POSB covers savings, recurring deposit, time deposit, monthly income, PPF, NSC, KVP, Sukanya Samriddhi and the senior citizens scheme.
- Postal Life Insurance and Rural PLI; money orders; India Post Payments Bank for doorstep banking.
Building a tariff
Charges are modular: weight slab (first slab plus each additional slab or part) plus zone or distance plus service fee plus add-ons such as registration, acknowledgement, insurance premium and COD fee.
Worked example
A 750 g registered parcel within the state. Assume the first 500 g costs 30, each further 500 g or part costs 20, registration 20 and acknowledgement 5. The extra 250 g is a part slab, so it costs 20: 30 plus 20 gives 50; adding 20 and 5 gives 75. Always round weight upward to complete slabs.
Traps
- Ignoring the words or part thereof and charging only exact weight.
- Mixing the registration fee with the insurance premium.
- Quoting withdrawn rates instead of the current tariff.