Indian Treaty Series

In order to establish an exchange of correspondence between India and Bhutan, the undersigned, duly authorised for the purpose,

HAVE agreed upon the following articles :

Article 1

There shall be, between the Postal Administration of India and the Postal Administration of Bhutan, a regular exchange of the following kinds of unregistered and registered correspondence, namely, letters, letter cards/aerogrammes, single postcards, reply postcards, printed papers, samples of merchandise, small packets and literature for the blind.

Article 2

The exchange of registered and unregistered correspondence between the two countries shall be performed through offices of exchange constituted for the purpose. No charges shall be levied by either Administration for mails exchanged between two offices of the other Administration and transiting through its territory.

Article 3

The postage on postal articles exchanged between the two Administrations shall be paid by means of postage stamps of the country of origin and each pre-payment shall entitle the postal articles to be delivered free of all postal charges. The two Administrations shall communicate to each other details of their tariffs of postal charges and shall supply each other with six complete sets of postage stamps used in their respective services.

Article 4

The Bhutan Administration will prescribe appropriate postage rates and fees for all correspondence which will be in conformity with the Indian Postage rates and fees.

Article 5

Unpaid or insufficiently prepaid correspondence which is wrongly accepted shall be liable to a charge, to be paid by the addressee, equal to double postage or double the amount of deficiency.

Article 6

Each Administration shall keep the whole of the sums which it collects under Articles 3 and 5.

Article 7

No supplementary postage shall be chargeable for the re-direction of articles of correspondence within India and Bhutan.

Article 8

Correspondence relating to the Postal Service will be exempted from all postal charges if exchanged between the following :

(a) The Postal Administrations of the two countries.
(b) The Post Offices of the two countries.
(c) A Post Office of one country and the Postal Administration of the other.

Some correspondence should bear on the front upper left corner the indication “Postal Service”.

Article 9

Correspondence of all kinds which is not delivered from whatever cause, shall be returned as soon as possible after the period for keeping it as required by the regulations of the country of destination, and at the latest at the expiration of two months, through the medium of the respective offices of exchange in a special bundle labelled “Rebuts”.

Article 10

Mails Exchanged between the two Administrations shall be accompanied by mail lists, a specimen of which is given in Annexure A.

Article 11

The following procedure will be adopted for the closing of mails :

(1) As a general rule, the articles of the mails shall be classified and tied up in bundles according to the nature of the correspondence.

(2) Letters bearing traces of violation or damage shall have the fact noted on them and be marked with the date stamp of the office making the note.

(3) Every mail, after having been tied with string, shall be wrapped in strong paper sufficient in quantity to prevent damage to the contents, then again with string on the outside and sealed with wax or means of the official seal. The mail shall be furnished with a printed address bearing, in small characters, the name of the despatching office and in larger characters the name of the office of destination : “From...........for..........”. When their size requires it, mails shall be enclosed in bags properly closed, sealed with wax or lead and labelled.

(4) The label used for mails sent in bags shall be of strong thick papers or of paper affixed to blocks. The label shall indicate in a legible manner the office of origin and that of destination.

(5) When the number of bulk of the mail necessitates the use of more than one bag, separate bags shall, as far as possible, be utilised for :

(a) letters and postcards, and
(b) for other articles.

Each bag shall bear an indication of its contents.

(6) No bag shall exceed twenty kilogrammes in weight.

(7) The packed or bag of registered articles should be placed in one of the bags of letters; the outer bag should in every case bear a red label. When there is more than one bag of registered items, the additional bags shall be sent enclosed in an outer cover bearing the red label.

Article 12

1. The bags shall be returned empty to the despatching office by the next mail in the absence of other arrangements between the two Administrations.

2. The return of empty bags shall be effected by such offices of exchange of the two countries as are appointed for the purpose by the two Administrations by prior agreement.

3. The empty bags shall be rolled up and tied together in suitable bundles, the label blocks, if any, being placed inside the bags. The bundles shall be supplied with a label showing the name of the office of exchange from which the bags have been received whenever they are returned through another office of exchange.

4. If the bags to be returned are not too numerous, they may be placed in the bags containing correspondence. Otherwise, they shall be placed separately in sealed bags labelled with the names of the respective offices of exchange. The labels shall be marked “Empty Bags”.

Article 13

First class mails viz., letters, letter-cards/aerogrammes, single and reply post cards both registered and unregistered originating in either country and destined to the other shall be afforded air conveyance to the extent it is beneficial for the speedy transmission of the mails. The Administration of destination shall not recover any charge from the Administration of Origin for air conveyance on its internal sectors.

Article 14

1. The registered articles of the letter mail which should bear in bold letters on the front of the heading ‘Recommend” (Registered) should be arranged separately in the order of the entries in the Registered List, a specimen of which is given in Annexure ‘B’, tied in a bundle placing the list after the first article of the bundle. If more than one list is prepared each list should be placed in the bundle to which it relates and under the first article of the bundle. The total number of articles contained in each bundle should be written on the wrapper of the bundle. The bundles should then be placed in a registered bag or made into a packet as may be convenient and the bag or packet should be securely closed and sealed to preserve its contents. The registered items should be arranged in each bundle according to their order of entry in the Registered List.

2. In no case may registered items be included in the same bundle as un-registered items. As far as possible a single bag should not contain more than six hundred registered items.

Article 15

1. Registered articles for which the sender requests an advice of delivery should bear in bold letters on the front the indication ‘Advice of delivery’ or the stamp impression ‘A.D’. The sender should show his name and address in Roman letters at the bottom left hand corner of the face of the item.

2. Such items should be accompanied by a form, of the consistency of a postcard and light red in colour, in the form of the annexed specimen ‘C’. After the sender has written his name and address in Roman letters on the front of the form using means other than an ordinary pencil, the form should be completed by the office of origin or by any other office appointed by the despatching Administration and should be securely attached to the outside of the item; if the form does not reach the office of destination that office itself will make out a new advice of delivery.

3. The office of destination should return the form, duly filled up, unenclosed and free of postal charges, to the address shown by the sender. The form should be returned by the first mail.

4. When the sender enquires about an advice of delivery which he has not received within a reasonable period the procedure outlined in Article 16 should be followed.

Article 16

1. When the sender asks for an advice of delivery after the item has been posted, the office or origin should fill up the form as indicated in Annexure ‘C’ on the front of which the name and address of the sender should be written in Roman letters.

2. This form should be attached to an enquiry form, a specimen of which is given in Annexure ‘D’, this enquiry form, after having a postage stamp representing the charges due affix to it, should be dealt, with an accordance with the provisions of Article 17 except that, where the item has been duly delivered, the office of destination will withdraw the enquiry form (Annexure ‘D’) and return the advice of delivery (Annexure ‘C’) to the office of origin, in the manner indicated in Article 15. Where return of the advice of delivery by air has been asked from a postal administration, other than the Indian Administration it should bear the words “Return by Air” and should have the prescribed air mail label affix to it.

3. The office of destination which receives a request for an advice of delivery by telegram should prepare one as a matter of course. The arrangements detailed in Article 17(2) and (3) for the transmission of enquiries about registered items apply also to the transmission of requests for advice of delivery made after posting.

Article 17

1. The enquiry about a registered item should be made on the enquiry form (Annexure ‘D’) which should be accompanied as far as possible by a facsimile of the address of the item on a small sheet of thin paper. A single form may be used for several items posted at the same time, at the same office by the same sender and sent by the same means to the address of the same addressee.

2. As a general rule, the enquiry should be sent direct by the office of origin to the office of destination. These enquiries should be forwarded without a covering letter and in a closed envelop and always by the most rapid means (air or surface). If the office of destination is unable to furnish the information as to the final disposal of the item, it should complete the form and return it to the office of origin by the most rapid means (air or surface).

3. When the disposal of the item cannot be established by the office of destination, it should record the facts on the form and return it to the office of origin, enclosing, as far as possible, a declaration by the addressee stating that he has not received the item. In that case, the Administration of origin should complete the form by showing the details of the transmission of the item in its internal service and to the Administration of destination. The Administration of destination which has effected delivery to the addressee or which as the case may be, is unable to establish either delivery or due transmission to another Administration should record the fact on the form and return it to the Administration of origin.

Article 18

The responsibility for the loss of registered items shall be borne by the Administration concerned. The sender is entitled on this account to an indemnity, the amount of which is fixed at Rs.25.00 for a registered article booked and deliverable in India or Bhutan and Rs.61.25 in respect of an article transiting through India.

Article 19

1. Until the contrary is proved, responsibility for the loss of a registered item rests with the Administration which having received it without comment and being furnished with all the prescribed means of enquiry, cannot establish either delivery to the addressee or, where appropriate, due transfer to another Administration.

2. Until the contrary is proved and subject to the provisions of para 3 below, the Administration of destination is relieved of all responsibility when it can prove that it was not informed of the enquiry until after the destruction of the official records relating to the item in question, the period of retention prescribed in Article 31 having expired, this reservation, however, does not prejudice the right of the enquirer.

3. If, however, the loss occurs in course of conveyance and it is impossible to establish in which country’s territory or service the loss took place, both the Administrations should bear the loss equally.

4. The postal charges of which it has not been possible to secure cancellation should be borne by the Administration responsible for the loss.

5. An Administration which has paid the indemnity takes over the rights, upto the amount of the indemnity, of the person who has received it, in any action which may be taken against the addressee, the sender or third parties.

6. When a registered item has been lost in circumstances beyond control, the Administration in whose territory or service the loss occurred is not responsible to the despatching Administration.

Article 20

Subject to its rights to make a claim on the Administration which is responsible, the Administration to which the office of posting belongs must pay the indemnity.

Article 21

1. The indemnity shall be paid as soon as possible and at the latest within a period of six months from the day following the date of the enquiry.

2. The settlement of the indemnity beyond the period prescribed in he para 1 may, however, be postponed till the question whether the loss of the item is due to causes beyond control is decided.

3. The Administration of origin is authorised to settle with the sender at the expense of the Administration of destination which, after being duly informed, has failed to settle the matter within five months. A longer period is permitted if the loss appears to be due to a cause beyond control. This fact is, in any case, to be communicated to the Administration of origin.

Article 22

1. The Administration which is responsible or on whose account payment is made in accordance with Article 21 is bound to reimburse the despatching Administration for the amount of the indemnity actually paid to the sender, within four months from the date of despatch of the notice of payment.

2. The administration whose responsibility is duly proved and which has at first declined to pay the indemnity shall assume all additional costs resulting from the unwarranted delay in payment.

3. The two Administrations agree to settle annually the indemnities which they may have paid to the senders and accepted as justified.

Article 23

1. If after payment of indemnity, a registered item or part of such an item previously considered as lost is found, the addressee and sender should be informed of the fact. The sender or when the sender has waived his rights in favour of the addressee the latter should be further informed that he may take delivery of it within a period of three months on payment of the amount of indemnity received. If by the end of that period the sender or where applicable the addressee has not claimed the item the same approach is made to the addressee or the sender as the case may be.

2. If the sender or the addressee takes delivery of the item against payment of the amount of indemnity that sum is refunded to the Administration which bore the loss. If the sender and the addressee refuse to take delivery of the item it becomes the property of the Administration which paid the indemnity.

Article 24

1. The two Administration s will have no responsibility for the loss of registered items :

(a) in circumstances beyond control ;

(b) when they cannot account for items owing to the destruction of official records through a cause beyond control, provided that proof of the responsibility has not been otherwise established ;

(c) where it is a question of items whose contents fall within the prohibitions specified in Article 28.

(d) when the sender has made no enquiry within the period of one year ;

(e) when registered items have been delivered according to the conditions laid down for the items of the same kind in their internal regulations ;

(f) when items are confiscated under the internal legislation of the country of destination.

2. The Administrations are also free from all responsibility for the loss of the contents of the registered items.

Article 25

1. Enquiries and requests for information will be entertained within a period of a year from the day after that on which an item was posted. Enquiries initiated by an Administration must be dealt with, provided they reach the Administration concerned within eighteen months from the date of posting of the item under enquiry.

2. Each Administration is bound to accept enquiries and requests for information relating to any item posted in the service of the other Administration.

3. When the enquiry or request for information is, at the request of the interested party, to be transmitted by air, it will give rise to the collections of the respective air surcharge or double the surcharge if the reply is also to be transmitted by air. In both the cases, the amount of the surcharge will be retained in full and the Administration which collects it. If the use of telegraph is requested, the prescribed charges will be recovered from the party concerned.

Article 26

No fee shall be levied for enquiries or complaints in regard to the correspondence posted in either country for delivery in the other. The request for an attested copy of the original receipt signed by the addressee of a registered article will require the collection of a fee equal to that prescribed in the domestic service of the country of origin.

Article 27

1. The office of exchange which receives a mail shall check whether the entries in the Mail List and Registered List are correct.

2. When the office of exchange detects errors or omissions it shall immediately make the necessary corrections on the Mail List and Registered List taking care to strike out the erroneous entries with a pen in which a manner as to leave the original entries legible. These corrections shall be made by two officers in the case of an important office and by the officer-in-charge only in the case of an unimportant office where he works single-handed. Except when an obvious error has been committed they should be accepted in preference to the original statement.

3. A Verification Certificate, a specimen of which is given in the Annexure ‘E’ should be prepared by the receiving office and sent without delay t the despatching office.

4. The despatching office, after examination, shall return the Verification Certificate with any observations to which it may give rise.

5. In case of the non-receipt of a mail or of a Mail List the fact should immediately be reported by means of a Verification Certificate by the office of destination to the despatching office. As soon as a mail which had been reported to the office of origin as missing comes to hand, a second Verification Certificate should be addressed to that office announcing the receipt of the mail.

6. When the office of destination has not forwarded to the despatching office, by the first mail, after check, a Verification Certificate reporting errors or irregularities of any kind, the absence of that document should be regarded as evidence of the due receipt of the mail and its contents, until the contrary be proved.

Article 28

Neither of the two Administrations shall send to the other by post any article the importation or transmission of which by post is prohibited in the latter country, or any article which is liable to customs duty. Each Administration shall communicate to the other a list of the articles so prohibited. Any postal article which has been erroneously given transmission, shall be returned to the country of origin, except in cases where the Administration of the country of destination is authorised by its laws or by its internal regulations to dispose of it otherwise. Explosives, inflammable or dangerous substances, obscene or immoral articles, however, shall not be returned to the country of origin. When their presence is detected by the Administration of country of destination, they shall be destroyed on the spot.

Article 29

The Postal Administration of India will forward to such of the member countries of the Universal Postal Union as are indicated by the Postal Administration of Bhutan, articles of correspondence of Bhutanese origin under the provisions of Articles 44 of U.P.U. Constitution (Vienna, 1964). No transit charge will be levied by the Indian Posts and Telegraphs Administration for forwarding such mails to those foreign countries either by surface or by air.

Article 30

When, owing to exceptional circumstances, either Postal Administration finds itself obliged to suspend its services temporarily either wholly or in part, it is bound to notify the fact immediately, if need be by telegram, to the other Administration.

Article 31

1. Documents relating to the service between India and Bhutan should be kept for a minimum period of eighteen months from the day following the date to which they refer.

2. Documents concerning a dispute or enquiry are to be kept until the matter is finally settled. If the initiating Administration, on being duly informed on the result of the enquiry allows six months to pass from the date of the communication without raising any objection, the matter will be regarded as closed.

Article 32

1. This Agreement replaces the existing Arrangement for the exchange of correspondence between the Postal Administration of India and the Postal Administration of Bhutan signed in New Delhi on the 11th September 1962.

2. Further matters of detail relating to the operation of the postal services may be settled by mutual consent.

Article 33

The present Arrangement shall enter into force with effect from 1st May 1967. It shall thereafter continue to be in force until it is terminated by either Administration giving six months notice in writing to the other.

EXECUTED in duplicate and signed at New Delhi, this 21st day of April 1967.

For the Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department For the Postal Administration of Bhutan

Sd/- Sd/-
M DAYAL DASHO TANJU JAGGAR
Senior Member (Posts) Chief Secretary, Bhutan
Posts and Telegraphs Board
and Ex-officio Additional Secretary
to the Government of India.

Sd/-
DASHO DAWA TSERING
Secretary-General
Development Wing, Bhutan

Sd/-
GESHE TSWANG
Member, Royal Advisory Council

Sd/-
DURGA DASS LAMA
Member, Royal Advisory Council

‘A’
MAIL LIST

M-1 TOTAL

DUE MAILS DESPATCHED .....................

From
UNUSUAL MAILS DESPATCHED

To
DETAILS OF UNUSUAL MAILS

Office of despatch or designation of sender Office of destination or designation of addressee Parcel bags Packet bags Special bags Telegraph covers

Explanation of any discrepancy in the despatch of due mails Total

GRAND TOTAL .......
D.O. R.O.
Date stamp Date stamp

____________________D.O.

R.P. 32

REGISTERED LIST From
To Postage Due Rs.

Serial No. Class No. Office of Posting Weight Serial No. Class No. Office of Posting Weight
1. 11.
2. 12.
3. 13.
4. 14.
5. 15.
6. 16.
7. 17
8. 18.
9. 19.
10. 20.

D.O. Total (in words) .............................. Ordinary including V.P. articles
Date Stamp .............................. Registered bundles R.O.
.............................. Insured envelopes Date-Stamp
.............................. Insured bundles
.............................. Grand Total
.............................. M.O. envelopes (M.O.s for less than Rs.200/-.
.............................. List enclosed

Verified entry/entries relative to Insured articles above

D.O. R.O.
Signature Signature

Signature of Postmaster/Head Sorter

R.P. 54 (a) (1) C5
FRONT SIDE
POSTAL ADMINISTRATION
OF INDIA
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT RECEIPT


Stamp of the offrice
Mr.________________________________________ returning the
Acknowledgement

(Street and No.)______________________________
at
(Place of destination in block letters)

Country of destination
___________________________________________________________________________________

(1) If this acknowledgement is returned by air, write the words “Return by air” and affix the Air Mail Label.

(2) To be filled in by the sender who will indicate his address for the return of his acknowledgement.

___________________________________________________________________________________
C5
(To be filled in by the office of origin) Back

The undersigned states that the article mentioned overleaf has been duly delivered on
..................

Signature of the official of the office of destination.
(1) Registration item (________________________)

Letter
Box insured for________________________

posted at the office of ________________________

on the under No._________

Stamp of the office of destination
sent by Mr._____________________________________
______________________________________________
and addressed to Mr. .____________________________
______________________________________________

at____________________________________________

(1) Indicate in the brackets the nature of the item (letter, printed paper, etc.

(2) Strike out the entries which do not apply

(3) This acknowledgement must be sent by the addressee or by a person duly authorised under the regulations of the country of destination or if those regulations permit by the official of the office of destination and returned by the first mail direct to the sender.
‘D’

Mx.19 C9 FRONT

POSTAL ADMINISTRATION
OF INDIA RECLAMATION ENQUIRY

Stamp of the offrice
To be filled up in the service of the country of origin

In respect of a registered article or an insured letter or box
_________________________________________________________________
Registered Article ( )
or for a letter / box insured for
containing _______________
posted by Mr. on the
under No. at the office of
to the following address
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
and in respect of which an agreement of receipt was applied for
A facsimile of the envelope is attached / address in the article is not attached.

To be filled up in the service of country of destination

In case of non delivery In case of delivery

Was returned to the office of origin The undersigned declares that the article
on the______________________ mention above has been duly delivered
Was re-directed on the ________ to the proper person.
Has not been received at the office
Stamp of the office of delivery
of destination
The head of the office of delivery

(1) If this form is not intended to be returned
by air mail, it should bear, on the front, distinctly
the words “To be returned by air” and the air mail
label “By air”.

(2) Letter, printed paper, sample, etc.
(3) Indicate the amount and state the currency
Stamp of the office of delivery
(4) Description of the content as far as possible.
(5) Strike out if this does not apply to the case
(6) Indicate the exact and complete address

‘D’

C9 BACK

TO BE FILLED UP ONLY IN THE CASE WHEN THE FATE OF THE ARTICLE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED BY ENQUIRIES PROVIDED FOR ON THE FRONT SIDE.

To be filled up in the service of the country of origin

A By the office of origin and intermediate offices B By the office of exchange

Included in the air/ surface mail from The article described overleaf was
of the ___________________19........... included in the year / surface mail
Despatched for ..................................... No.

Included in the air/ surface mail from from the office of exchange of
of the ___________________19........... .........................of the ..............19
Despatched for ..................................... ............. for the office of exchange
of .................................................
Included in the air/ surface mail from in table V of the letter bill or on the
of the ___________________19........... ......................................................
Despatched for ..................................... It was entered under No. special list
No. ...........................of the insured
letter invoice no.

Stamp of the office

To be filled up in the service of the intermediary countries.

The article described on the other side was included in the air/surface mail no. ................ from the office of exchange of .......................... of the ....................19 ......... for the office of exchange of .......................... It was entered under No. ............ of the insured letter invoice no..............

Stamp of the office.

The article described on the other side was included in the air/surface mail no. ................ from the office of exchange of .......................... of the ....................19 ......... for the office of exchange of .......................... It was entered under No. ............ of the insured letter invoice no..............

Stamp of the office.

To be filled up in the service of the intermediatory countries.

The article described on the other side was included in the air/surface mail no. ................ from the office of exchange of .......................... of the ....................19 ......... for the office of exchange of .......................... It was entered under No. ............ of the insured letter invoice no..............

Signature

Stamp of the office

FINAL REPLY

of the administration of destination or of the intermediate Administration as the case may be, which can not established the regular transmission of the article under enquiry to the next administration.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

This form should be returned to

Strike out the entries which do not apply
ANNEXURE E
Correspondence with the Administration

Postal Administration of India
Office of

VERIFICATION CERTIFICATE

For reporting and correcting errors and
regularities of all kinds detected in
the mail no._________from the
office of exchange of _________________
Stamp of the office
for the office of exchange of ____________
the despatch of the ________________ 19______, Stamp of the
a___________________ b__________________ office

VARIOUS ERRORS OR IRREGULARITIES

Non receipt of the mail, Non receipt of registered articles or of the letter bill,
abstraction from the mail, bag torn or in bad condition, etc.




The______________ 19 ___________________ The _______________ 19___________

Officers of the office receiving the mail Examined and received