13. Off ice of Exchange, Offices of exchange of transit bags, Foreign Post
Offices and Sub-Foreign Post Offices.- (a) A Post Office or Sorting Office or Section
which exchanges mails with offices in foreign countries is known as an “Office of
Exchange”. It is referred to as the dispatching office of exchange in respect of
mails it makes up and addresses to an office of exchange in another country, while it
is called the receiving office of exchange in respect of mails addressed to it by an
office of exchange f rom another country. The term “outward office of exchange” and
“inward office of exchange” are also used to describe them. Even offices functioning
as both inward and outward offices of exchange may function in one of the capacities
only for certain countries.(b) An Office of Exchange on the border which only receives and dispatches
closed bags addressed to or received from other offices of exchange in India is known
as an “Office of Exchange of transit”. Such an office will not close bags for foreign
countries or open inward foreign bags. Its function is only to exchange mails with the
carrier or with the officials of a foreign administration.
( c) A “Foreign Post Office” is an office of exchange in which the work of
assessment of customs duty on foreign mails is also carried out. Although mails may
be intercepted (and articles not suspected to contain anything dutiable released) in
many exchange offices, the work of actual assessment of duty (and opening of articles
for this purpose where necess ary) is done only in the Foreign Post Offices. Articles
received in one office of exchange and suspected to contain dutiable goods, for
delivery from an office nearer another office of exchange are directed to the latter for
actual examination and assessment of duty.
)
(d) A “Sub-Foreign Post Office” is an office which is not an exchange office
(i.e., which does not close bags for other countries and which does not receive from
foreign countries bags addressed it) but in which the work of customs examination,
assessment and accounting of customs duty is carried out. Such sub-Foreign Post
Offices are opened mainly for the convenience of senders and addressees who may be
required to present documents, etc., for the release or dispatch of their foreign articles.
(Souce:http://www.indiapost.gov.in/PM_VOL_5.pdf)