British Commonwealth and Foreign Post Warrant, 1953
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1953/1732 |
1953 No. 1732
POST OFFICE
The British Commonwealth and Foreign Post Warrant, 195327thNovember 1953
1stDecember 1953
1stJanuary 1954
ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
PART I
Interpretation and application
1. Interpretation.
2. Application.
PART II
Rates of postage
3. Letters and postcards.
4. Reduced rate printed packets.
5. Other printed packets, commercial packets, sample packets and small packets.
6. Magazines for Canada.
7. Literature for the blind.
8. Insured boxes.
9. Articles grouped together in one packet.
10. Air mail packets.
11. Bulk postage.
PART III
General conditions
12. Prohibitions.
13. Contents of certain packets.
14. Packing.
15. Limits of weight and size.
16. Articles liable to duty.
17. Payment of postage and fees.
18. Unpaid or underpaid postage.
19. Treatment of irregular packets.
20. Undeliverable packets.
PART IV
Conditions relating to particular classes of packets
21. Postcards.
22. Printed packets.
23. Despatch of certain printed packets.
24. Commercial packets.
25. Sample packets.
26. Small packets.
27. Magazines for Canada.
28. Magazines for Canada.
29. Magazines for Canada.
30. Literature for the blind.
31. Air mail packets.
PART V
Postal facilities
32. Late fee packets.
33. Express delivery.
34. Transmission in bulk.
35. Redirection.
36. Certificate of posting.
PART VI
Registration and Insurance
37. Registration.
38. Registration.
39. Advice of delivery.
40. Compensation for registered packets.
41. Compulsory registration.
42. Insured letters.
43. Compensation for insured letters.
44. Insured boxes.
45. Compensation—general.
PART VII
General
46. Postal packets posted on ships or by Forces abroad.
47. Priority of letter post.
48. Remission of postage and fees.
49. Application of Inland Post Warrants.
50. Saving for Foreign Postal Packets (Customs) Warrants.
51. Revocation.
52. Short title and commencement.
We, the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, in exercise of all powers given to us by sections 5, 8, 11, 15 and 81 of the Post Office Act 1953(a) and of all other powers enabling us in this behalf, do, by this Warrant, made on the representation of Her Majesty's Postmaster-General (testified by his signing the same), and under the hands of two of us the said Commissioners, order, direct, and declare as follows:—
PART I.—INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION
Interpretation
1.—(1) In this Warrant, except so far as the contrary is provided or the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them:
"the Act" means the Post Office Act 1953;
"air letter" means a letter (not being a Forces letter) written on a special form and transmitted to the country or place of destination through the whole or part of its course in the post by an air mail service;
"air mail packet" means an outgoing postal packet conveyed or intended to be conveyed at the request of the sender through any part of its course in the post by an air mail service;
"air mail service" means a service established by or under the direction of the Postmaster-General for the conveyance of mails by air;
"coin" means coin whether or not current in the British postal area or elsewhere, except such as is used or designed for purposes of ornament;
"commercial packet" has the meaning assigned to it by regulation twenty-four;
"Commonwealth country" includes any of the territories referred to in Part 1 of the Second Schedule hereto;
"Forces letter" means a letter written on a special form and addressed to, or sent to the British postal area by, a member of the armed forces of the United Kingdom serving abroad or on board a ship of the Royal Navy on the high seas or in any port or place outside the British postal area, and transmitted, through the whole or part of its course in the post, by an air mail service;
"gold bullion" means uncoined and unmanufactured gold;
"incoming" applied to a postal packet of any description means received at a post office in the British postal area through the post;
"insured letter" and "insured box" mean respectively any insured letter and insured box which is for the time being transmissible under the provisions of the Universal Postal Union Agreement for the exchange of insured letters and boxes for the time being in force, and the detailed Regulations made thereunder;
"letter" includes any communication in the nature of current and personal correspondence, and also includes a packet transmitted at the letter rate of postage and containing goods or articles of merchandise;
"literature for the blind" means—
(i) books or papers (including letters to or from blind persons) impressed or otherwise prepared for the use of the blind;
(ii) plates bearing the characters of writing used for the blind;
(iii) voice records and special paper intended solely for the use of the blind provided that they are sent by or addressed to an officially recognised institute for the blind;
(a) 1 & 2 Eliz. 2. c. 36.
"magazine for Canada" means a postal packet consisting of a newspaper, magazine, or trade journal registered as provided by this Warrant for transmission to Canada, or consisting of more than one such article, being a packet posted in the British postal area for transmission to Canada by a ship plying directly between the British postal area and Canada;
"member of the armed forces of the United Kingdom or of any other Commonwealth country" and "member of the armed forces of any State allied with the United Kingdom" include a member of any auxiliary service of such respective forces;
"outgoing" applied to a postal packet of any description means posted in the British postal area;
"parcel" means a postal packet which is posted in the British postal area as a parcel in accordance with the provisions of the British Commonwealth and Foreign Parcel Post Warrant 1950(a) or any Warrant amending or replacing the same, or is received at a post office in the British postal area from abroad by parcel post;
"Phonopost packet" means an incoming postal packet containing a recorded spoken message, being a packet recognised as a Phonopost packet in accordance with the terms of the Universal Postal Convention for the time being in force;
"postal form" means a form issued by or under the authority of the Postmaster-General;
"postal packet" means and includes (except where otherwise expressed) a letter, postcard, printed packet, commercial packet, sample packet, small packet, magazine for Canada, packet consisting of literature for the blind, insured box, Phonopost packet, and a packet to which paragraph (1) of regulation nine applies, but does not include a telegram or (except in the foregoing definition of "parcel") a parcel;
"postcard" means a card recognised as a postcard in accordance with the terms of the Universal Postal Convention for the time being in force, and includes (except where otherwise expressed) a reply postcard;
"prescribed" means prescribed by the Postmaster-General;
"printed packet" has the meaning assigned to it by regulation twenty-two;
"reply postcard" means a postcard in two parts, one part (or where regulation twenty-one of this Warrant so allows, both parts) of which may without further payment be again transmitted through the post;
"sample packet" has the meaning assigned to it by regulation twenty-five;
"small packet" has the meaning assigned to it by regulation twenty-six;
and other expressions have the same meanings as they have in the Act.
(2) The Interpretation Act, 1889(b), applies to the interpretation of this Warrant as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.
Application
2. The provisions of this Warrant shall, except where otherwise expressed, apply exclusively to:—
(a) postal packets transmitted by post in either direction between the British postal area and a country or place (other than the Republic of Ireland) outside the British postal area; and
(a) S.I. 1950/1200; 1950 II, p. 367.
(b) 52 & 53 Vict. c. 63.
(b) postal packets so transmitted between the British postal area and a ship of the Royal Navy outside the territorial waters of the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, whether or not such postal packets are addressed "c/o G.P.O.".
PART II.—RATES OF POSTAGE
Letters and Postcards
3.—(1) The rates of postage specified in Part 1 of the First Schedule hereto shall be charged and paid on letters and postcards:
(i) posted in the British postal area for transmission to a person in any of the countries or places specified in Part 1 or Part 2 of the Second Schedule hereto, or the United States of America;
(ii) posted on board a ship registered in any part of the British postal area while the ship is on the high seas, for transmission to a person in any of the countries or places specified in Part 1, Part 2 or Part 3 of the Second Schedule hereto;
(iii) posted in the British postal area, or posted on board a ship registered in any part of the British postal area while the ship is on the high seas:—
(a) for transmission in closed mails to a person on board a ship of the Royal Navy (whether on the high seas or in any port or place outside the British postal area), or
(b) for transmission to a member of the armed forces of the United Kingdom or of any other Commonwealth country serving outside the British postal area, or a member of the armed forces of any State allied with the United Kingdom serving outside the British postal area with the armed forces of the United Kingdom or of any other Commonwealth country, being transmission through a British Forces' Post Office or a civilian Postal Administration in any foreign country which has agreed to deliver without surcharge letters and postcards at the said rates;
(iv) posted on board a ship of the Royal Navy (whether on the high seas or in any port or place outside the British postal area) for transmission in closed mails to a person in the United States of America; or
(v) posted by a member of the armed forces of the United Kingdom or of any...
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