Indian Post Office Act 1898, to be repealed

Indian Post Office Act 1898, to be repealed

Subject: Polity

Section: Legislation

In News: Post Office Bill, 2023 introduced in Rajya Sabha,  Indian Post Office Act, 1898 to be repealed.

Key Points:

•    Post Office Bill, 2023, introduced in the Rajya Sabha. It will repeal the Indian Post Office Act, 1898, and consolidate and amend the law relating to the Post Office in India.
•  Why the need for a new Act?
  • The Indian Post Office Act, 1898 was enacted in 1898 with a view to govern the functioning of the Post Office in India which was primarily related to mail services provided through the Post Office.
  • With time the services available through the Post Office have diversified beyond mails and the Post Office network has become a vehicle for delivery of a variety of citizen centric services. Further with India Post Payments Bank the postal department has entered banking too.
  • All this necessitated the repeal of the said Act and enactment of new law in its place.
• The Post Office Bill, 2023 addresses these changes and provides for a simple legislative framework to facilitate evolution of the post office into a network for delivery of citizen centric services.
• Some of the changes are as follows:
  • Empowering post offices employees to open or detain any item during transmission in the interest of national security or public safety.
  • It also prescribed immunity for post offices employees from liability in providing services, but with conditions.
  • The bill prescribes power to intercept, open or detain any item or deliver it to the customs authority.
  • Post Office will be empowered to deliver an item, received from a domestic or international source, to customs or any concerned authority in case there is suspicion of duty evasion or it is prohibited under the law.
  • The bill has a provision related with recovery of sums due in respect of services provided by the Post Office.
  • Post Office shall have the exclusive privilege of issuing postage stamps. Also, the Central Government may prescribe standards for addressing on the items, address identifiers and usage of postcodes.