Information

The "Daily List"

The subscription for the "Post Office Daily List” is Rs. 15 per annum, which must be paid in advance. If the "Daily List" is required for the first time at any date in the year after June 30, the fee for that year only will be Rs. 7.50. Single copies will be sold, when available, at 15 cents each.

The "Daily List" contains the latest information about the arrival and departure of the mails, lists of undelivered letters and telegrams, and other postal and telegraph information.

Legal responsibility of Post Office

The Government of Sri Lanka is exempted by law from any liability arising from reason of the loss, misdelivery, delay of, or damage to, any postal article in course of transmission by post, except so far as such liability has been in express terms undertaken by the Government of Sri Lanka in the rules regarding registered and insured articles. No officer of the Post Office incurs any legal liability for any such loss, misdelivery, delay, or damage, unless he has caused the same fraudulently or by his wilful act or default.

Knowledge of Postal Rules presumed

The Postmaster General refuses to admit any claim for payment of any loss incurred, attributed to erroneous information given by a postal officer.

Posting of Valuables

Bullion, current coin not exceeding Rs. 250.00 in value, precious stones, jewellery, and articles of gold and silver may be sent by the Inland Post only if insured. Currency notes may be sent in registered letters, the insurance of which is compulsory in the case of the Inland Post.

Note: By current coin is meant coin current in any country. The limit of value therefore applies to coin in general, whether current in Sri Lanka or elsewhere. By sending articles of value in unregistered letters or unregistered parcels, the senders not only run the risk of losing their property, but also expose to temptation every person through whose hands the articles pass.

Use of P. O. Box No. in Address

The public are strongly urged always to include the Post Office Box No. in the address of correspondence for Post Office box holders. Failure to do so not only seriously retards sorting of letters, but also renders delay in their delivery unavoidable.

Packing

  • Every postal article has to be date stamped, and is liable to a great deal of pressure and friction in the mail bags and during transit. All articles, therefore, which are likely to suffer from stamping or pressure, should be racked in strong covers. The Post Office cannot take any special precautions to secure the safety of fragile articles. When wax cloth is used for the protection of a parcel, packet, or letter, it should be used a an inside cover, or there should at least be sufficient strong paper secured: fastened outside the wax cloth to receive the impression of the Post Office date stamps and any postage stamps which have to be affixed to the article.
  • Special rules regarding the packing of particular classes of article are given in the rules of the Guide relating to insured articles and printed matter open packets and parcels under the Inland Post, and in the rude relating to printed papers, samples, and insured parcels under the Foreign Post. These rules are absolute rules, for the breach of which a penalty is prescribed in each case.

Note.-Paper used as wrappers for packets of printed matter intended for the Foreign Post should be specially strong and tough. As an additional precaution against the tearing of paper wrappers, it is recommended that thick magazines o pamphlets which are folded for the post be tied with string or tape before the wrapper is applied.

Sealing

The public are advised not to use sealing wax for seals on unregistered letters and packets, except when such seals are necessary for the protection of the articles. When sealing wax is used for seals on letters and packets, a piece of tissue or other thin paper should be laid on the wax before the seal is applied, as otherwise both the articles themselves a well as those with which they come in contact in transit are liable b injury from the sealing wax adhering to other articles. This precaution is specially necessary in the case of articles for the United Kingdom an( foreign countries as such articles have to pass through very warm regions.

Value-payable Letters containing Railway Consignment Notes

Senders of value-payable letters containing Railway Consignment Note are requested to have the letters sealed with an identifiable impression other than that of a coin, before posting, as a safeguard against the possibility of the contents being tampered with in course of transmission b, post.

Addition of Sender’s Address

Every article should bear on the deft-hand corner the name and address of the sender, in order that the Post Office may be able, in case of non delivery, to return it unopened and without delay. This is specially, necessary in the case of registered articles (whether letters or parcels) and unregistered parcels. A large number of undelivered articles are destroyed every year at the Returned Letter Office because they contain no clue, outside or inside, to the whereabouts of the senders, and it is suggested that, in the case of photographs sent by packet post, the name and address of the sender should always be written on the back of the photographs.

Advantage of Prepayment of Postage

Articles on which the postage has not been prepaid, or has not beer fully prepaid, represent money that has to be realized by the Post Office and are therefore forwarded and delivered under special arrangements which necessarily involve delay.

With regard to payment on correspondence addressed to foreign countries, the attention of the public is drawn to the importance of pre­paying postage in full, especially on newspapers and packets, as in­sufficient prepayment, besides involving delay, is likely to result in the refusal of such articles by the addressees.

Complaints against Post Office

  • Complaints should, in the first instance, be addressed to the Post­master of the office concerned, unless the matter complained of is of such importance as to call for an independent investigation. If tine complainant is not satisfied with the action taken by the Postmaster or for other reasons desires an independent investigation, he should address the Chief Post­master, Chief Telegraph Master or Divisional Superintendent concerned or the Postmaster General. Complaints on matters of special importance should always be addressed direct to the Postmaster General.
  • A list of Post Offices in the Island will be found in alphabetical order in the Inland Post and Telecommunication Directory in Part II, and against each office, in column 11 is shown the Postal Division. The indicators in column 2 are explained on pages 1-5 of Part II of the “Post Office Guide ".
  • Complaints made by the senders of registered or insured articles or by the remitters of Money Orders should be accompanied by copies of the receipts granted by the Post Office, and complaints from the senders of unregistered articles of the loss of the articles should furnish the certificate of posting, where one has been obtained, or such information as may be available to establish the actual posting of the articles, such as (1) the date and hour of posting, (2) the locality of the letter box in which posted, (3) the full address on the article, and (4) the person by whom posted. In many complaints it is found that articles entrusted to messengers or servants are never actually posted, or are not posted at the time believed, or that the posting is uncertain.
  • In all cases of loss of the contents of an article, the cover or wrapper should accompany the complaint, and a full description of the missing contents should be given ; if the missing contents are currency notes, the serial letters and numbers and general numbers of the notes should be given. In all cases of damage to the contents of an article, the contents and the wrapper, cover, or package should accompany the complaint.
  • Complaints of delay in the delivery of articles should be accompanied by the original covers or wrappers. In a complaint regarding the Savings Bank, the number of the pass book and the name of the office at which the first deposit was made should always be given.
  • Complaints of overcharge on articles, the delivery of which has been accepted, should be addressed to the Postmaster of the office of delivery, to whom the article should be taken or sent before it is opened.
  • Complaints regarding the wrong payment or non-payment of a Money Order cannot be attended to unless preferred within twelve months of the date of issue of the Money Order. Other complaints cannot be attended to unless preferred within six months of the date of the occur­rence to which they relate, of the date of its issue.

Acceptance of Cheques

  • No cheques whether on private or on Government account will be cashed at Post Offices out of Post Office Funds.
  • Private cheques unless guaranteed by a Banker (vide form of guarantee appended) will not be accepted in payment for Stamps, Money Orders, Value-payable Parcels, &c. For Savings Bank deposits cheques will, however, be accepted provided the whole amount of the cheque is to be deposited in each case and no part of it is to be refunded in cash, but no withdrawal there from will be allowed until the expiration of a fortnight from the date of such deposit.
  • For the payment of money due to the Post Office for services ren­dered, for payment of Wireless licence fees, or as deposit in special cases, e.g., book fees, etc., cheques will be accepted if drawn for no greater amount than is due to the Post Office. In case of payment of Phonogram Charges, cheques may be accepted if drawn for a round sum even in excess of the actual amount due. The excess will be placed to the subscriber’s credit.
  • Cheques will not be accepted if tendered less than seven working days (excluding Bank Holidays) from the date of expiry of the validity of the cheque.