Inland Post Regulations 1968

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
CitationSI 1968/1253
Year1968

1968 No. 1253

POST OFFICE

The Inland Post Regulations 1968

5thAugust 1968

20thAugust 1968

16thSeptember 1968

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

PART I

INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION

1. Interpretation.

2. Application.

PART II

POSTAGE

3. Rates of postage.

4. Additional postage on late posted packets.

5. Additional postage on certain parcels.

PART III

GENERAL CONDITIONS

6. Prohibitions.

7. Packets containing others for different persons.

8. Packing.

9. Limits of size and weight.

10. Payment of postage and fees.

11. Treatment of irregular packets.

12. Return of undeliverable postal packets (except parcels).

13. Return of undeliverable parcels.

14. Treatment of packets addressed to deceased persons.

PART IV

CONDITIONS RELATING TO PARTICULAR CLASSES OF POSTAL PACKETS

15. Cards.

16. Printed packets.

17. Deferment of second class letters and printed packets.

18. Registration of newspapers under the Act.

19. Conditions as to current registered newspapers.

20. Parcels.

21. Parcels—Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

22. Parcels in bond.

23. Articles for the use of the blind.

24. Unaddressed packets.

PART V

POSTAL FACILITIES

25. General.

26. Express delivery.

27. Railex service.

28. Redirection by the public.

29. Evasion of postage by redirection.

30. Poste restante.

31. Rebate postings of second class letters and printed packets.

32. Transmission of postal packets in bulk.

PART VI

REGISTRATION AND COMPENSATION

33. Registration.

34. Conditions as to registered packets.

35. Receipts for registered packets.

36. Compulsory registration.

37. Compensation for registered packets.

38. Compensation for unregistered parcels.

39. Compensation for unregistered express packets.

PART VII

RECORDED DELIVERY

40. Recorded delivery service.

41. Conditions as to recorded delivery packets.

42. Receipts for recorded delivery packets.

43. Compensation for recorded delivery packets.

PART VIII

CASH ON DELIVERY

44. Fees and conditions.

45. Delivery of cash on delivery packets.

46. Payment of trade charge to sender.

47. Trade charge money orders—crossing.

48. Trade charge money orders—payment to bankers.

49. Discharge to Crown by payment.

50. Void trade charge money orders.

PART IX

MISCELLANEOUS AND GENERAL

51. Stamping of paper.

52. Jury summonses.

53. Variation of route.

54. Remission of postage.

55. Application of the regulations to packets to and from the Republic of Ireland.

56. Revocation and transitional provision.

57. Citation and commencement.

Schedule 1: Rates of postage and limits of size and weight
                Schedule 2: Postal facilities
                Schedule 3: Express delivery services
                Schedule 4: Registered postal packets
                Schedule 5: Cash on delivery packets
                Schedule 6: Fees for stamping paper for use as cards, covers or
                 envelopes.
                Schedule 7: Rates of postage and limits of size and weight for postal
                 packets to be transmitted to the Republic of Ireland.
                

I, The Right Honourable John Thomson Stonehouse, M.P., Her Majesty's Postmaster General, by virtue of the powers conferred upon me by sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 15 and 81 of the Post Office Act 1953(a) (as amended or substituted by sections 21 and 28 of and the Schedule to the Post Office Act 1961(b)), section 9 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947(c), section 11 of the Juries Act 1862(d) and all other powers enabling me in this behalf, do hereby make the following regulations:

PART I—INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION

Interpretation

1.—(1) In these regulations, 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 ;

"articles for the use of the blind" has the meaning assigned to it by regulation 23;

(a) 1953 c. 36.

(b) 1961 c. 15.

(c) 1947 c. 44.

(d) 1862 c. 107.

"business reply packet" means a letter or printed packet, on which postage has not been prepaid, and which :

(a) is addressed to, or to the agent of, a person who has made provision to the satisfaction of the Postmaster General for the payment of the appropriate postage on letters or printed packets which are posted without prepayment of postage and are received by him or such agent, and

(b) is distinguished or marked in such manner as the Postmaster General may direct ;

"cash on delivery packet" means a registered letter, printed packet or registered newspaper or a registered or unregistered parcel upon which the Postmaster General undertakes at the request of the sender to collect or secure the collection of a sum of money (in these regulations referred to as a trade charge) on his behalf from the addressee of the packet as a condition of delivery and upon which the sender has paid the fee for the cash on delivery service ;

"coin" means coin (whether or not current) except such as is used or designed for purposes of ornament ;

"current registered newspaper" means a registered newspaper which is of current issue and is in course of distribution by the publisher, a wholesaler or a retailer and which is intended by the sender to be transmitted at the rate of postage specified in item 3 of Schedule 1 and includes a packet of such newspapers ;

"customs duty" includes purchase tax ;

"express delivery office" means any post office from time to time authorised by the Postmaster General for the reception of postal packets for conveyance and delivery by special messenger ;

"express packet" means a postal packet conveyed and delivered by special messenger, at the request of the sender or the addressee, throughout its whole course in the post or any part thereof ;

"first class letter" means:

(a) a letter upon which there is denoted in a manner provided by regulation 10(3) payment of postage at the rate specified in or fixed under Schedule 1 appropriate for its transmission as a first class letter ;

(b) a letter on which postage has not been prepaid and with respect to which the Postmaster General has entered into an arrangement with the sender for the grant of credit facilities and which is distinguished or marked in such manner as the Postmaster General may direct to indicate the intention of the sender that it is to be transmitted as a first class letter ;

(c) a business reply packet (being a letter) which is distinguished or marked in such manner as the Postmaster General may direct to indicate the intention that it is to be transmitted as a first class letter ;

(d) a letter transmitted under the provisions of regulation 32 which is distinguished or marked in such manner as the Postmaster General may direct to indicate the intention of the sender that it is to be transmitted as a first class letter ;

"inland", when used in relation to any postal packet or any description of postal packet, means posted in the British postal area and addressed to some place in the British postal area, but does not include a postal packet addressed to a ship of the Royal Navy, notwithstanding that the name of a port in the British postal area or the words "c/o G.P.O. London" are included in the address, if the packet has to be sent abroad for delivery to the ship ;

"jewellery" means:

(a) gold, silver or platinum or other precious metal in a manufactured state; that is to say, a state in which value is added to the raw material by skilled workmanship, and in this definition are included any coins used or designed for purposes of ornament ;

(b) diamonds and precious stones ;

(c) watches, the cases of which are entirely or mainly composed of gold, silver or platinum or other precious metal; and

(d) any article of a like nature which, apart from workmanship, has an intrinsic or market value ;

"late posted packet" has the meaning assigned to it by regulation 4 ;

"letter", except where that expression is used in regulation 16, means any postal packet except a printed packet, a packet consisting of articles for the use of the blind, a current registered newspaper, a parcel, an unaddressed packet or a packet consisting of a petition or address of the kind referred to in the proviso to section 5(1) of the Act ;

"local parcel" means a parcel addressed to a place within the local parcel delivery area of the place at which the parcel is posted ;

"local parcel delivery area" means the area prescribed as such for the place at which a parcel is posted ;

"the minimum registration fee" means the fee referred to as such in the first column of Part I of Schedule 4 ;

"ordinary parcel" means a parcel which is not a local parcel ;

"paper money" means:

(a) bank notes or currency notes, being current in the British postal area or elsewhere ;

(b) money orders and postal orders ;

(c) unobliterated postage or revenue stamps available for current use in the British postal area or elsewhere (except revenue stamps embossed or impressed on an instrument which has been executed), and National Savings stamps ;

(d) exchequer bills, bills of exchange, promissory notes, cheques, credit notes which entitle the holder to money or goods and all orders and authorities for the payment of money, whether negotiable or not ;

(e) bonds and coupons relating thereto and other securities for money, whether negotiable or not ;

(f) coupons, vouchers, tokens, cards, stamps or similar documents, exchangeable (singly or with other such documents) for money, goods or services ;

"parcel" means a postal packet which is posted as a parcel in accordance with the provisions of these regulations ;

"postage forward parcel" means a parcel on which postage has not been prepaid, and which:

(a) is addressed to, or to the agent of, a person who has made provision to the satisfaction of the Postmaster General for the payment of postage on postage forward parcels which are posted without prepayment of postage and are received by him or such agent ; and

(b) is distinguished or marked in such manner as the Postmaster General may direct ;

"postal form" means a form issued by or under the authority of the Postmaster General ;

"postal packet" means and includes every packet or article...

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