Delivery of mail

Post box
The delivery of a postal article at the house or office of the addressee, or to the addressee or his servant or agent or other person considered to be authorized to receive the article according to the usual manner of delivering postal articles to the addressee, is deemed to be delivery to the addressee under the Post Office Ordinance.

An article insured for Rs. 250 or any sum less than Rs. 250 will be delivered in the ordinary manner. An article insured for more than Rs. 250 will be delivered only at the Post Office window, intimation of arrival being sent by the Post Office to the addressee. (See Rule 149).

Value-payable articles on which the amount to be recovered is in excess of Rs. 25 are not sent out by postmen, but must be called for at the office of delivery.

Duties of Postmen

Postmen are forbidden to deliver any article on which any sum of money is due to the Post Office, whether on account of postage, Customs duty, or on any other account, without receiving immediate payment of the amount due, or to deliver any registered or insured letter or parcel without obtaining the signature of the addressee on the receipt and acknowledgment. Postmen are also forbidden to deviate from their prescribed beats, and cannot therefore be required to call again to receive payment of sums due. They are not bound to give change.

Refusal of Articles

The addressee of an article is not bound to pay the amount due on it to the Post Office if he forthwith returns it to the postman unopened. In this case he should write the word ” Refused ” across the cover.

Acceptance of Articles

When a person takes delivery of an article on which any sum is due to the Post Office, he must pay the amount marked upon it. Any complaint of overcharge should be made to the Postmaster of the office of delivery, to whom the article should be taken before being opened.

Articles delivered in Good Condition

Post Office officials are not bound to witness the verification of contents of any postal article which is intact and bears no signs of damage or violation sustained in the post.

Remedy of Post Office for recovery of Charges due

If any person refuses to pay any postage or other sum due from him in respect of any postal article the sum so due may, on the application of an officer of the Post Office authorized in writing by the Postmaster General, be recovered for the use of the Post Office from the person so refusing as if it were a fine imposed under the Post Office Ordinance, by any Magistrate having jurisdiction where such person may for the time being be resident. The Postmaster General may further direct that any other postal article, not being on His Majesty’s Service, addressed to such person shall be withheld from him until the sum due is paid or recovered.

Articles maliciously sent unpaid

If the Postmaster General is satisfied that any article described in Rule 21 has been maliciously sent for the purpose of annoying the person to whom it is addressed, he may remit the amount of postage charged upon it.

Articles addressed indefinitely or fictitiously

No article will be delivered by the Post Office unless it bears a definite address. Articles addressed in a general way, i.e., addressed to a class of persons in contradistinction to a particular person or firm, or to initials or clearly fictitious names, are regarded as not bearing a definite address unless they are to the care of some definite person or firm, or unless the address specifies some definite place for delivery, such as a particular house or a particular number in a street, or a particular estate. Articles directed in a general way or to initials or clearly fictitious names will not be delivered if addressed merely to a Post Office or ” Poste Restante ” or to the care of a Postmaster.

Private Bags and Boxes

(1) Private bags or boxes may be used at any Post Office by the public for the posting and delivery of their correspondence. Should any ques­tion arise as to whether a box or bag shall be used, the decision of the Postmaster General on the question shall be final. The boxes or bags shall be of such size or sizes as the Postmaster General shall from time to time direct.

(2)The bag or box and the necessary keys must in every case be provided by or at the expense of the holder, and must be clearly marked with the name of the person, firm, or estate for which it is to be used.

(3) Boxes are not supplied by the Sri Lanka Post. In applying for a bag, to be supplied by the Sri Lanka Post, the applicant should give full parti­culars of the name to be marked on the bag, if he desires this to be done by the Sri Lanka Post.

(4) Bags purchased from the Sri Lanka Post become the sole property of the purchaser. They will not under any circumstances be repurchased or repaired by the Sri Lanka Post.

(5) The following fee, which must be paid in advance, is charged to the owner of every private bag or box who lives or has a place of business within the limits of a postman’s daily delivery :­

  • For each bag or box, for each calendar year or part thereof, Rs. 30.
  • Provided that if the bag or box is used for the first time at any date in the year after June 30, the fee for that year only will be Rs. 15.

(6) No fee is charged for attention to the private bag or box when the owner has no residence or place of business within the limits of a post man’s daily delivery.

(7) At Post Offices where there is a postman’s delivery only on certair days of the week, persons residing or having a place of business within the delivery limits are allowed to use a private bag or box without payment of the annual fee, provided that its use is confined to those days or which there is no postman’s delivery.

(8)All postal articles bearing an address which includes the number of a bag or box shall be placed for delivery in that bag or box : Providec however that in any town or place other than Colombo, articles addressee to any person other than the owner of the bag or box may on the writter application of that person be delivered to him separately. The delivery into Post Office Boxes of correspondence not directed to Post Office Bol numbers cannot be guaranteed.

(10)The Postal Sri Lanka Post will not hold itself responsible for damage to the box or bag or to its lock unless it can be shown that the damage was caused by the wilful act or default of an employee of the Sri Lanka Post.

(11)Under no circumstances whatsoever will a bag be opened in the General Post Office to admit of a bag holder removing all or a portion of his correspondence. When once a bag has been closed and delivered, it must be taken away and presented again at the delivery window only when letters are sent to the post or for the delivery of correspondence.