Small courier parcels to pinch more

NEW DELHI: Be prepared to pay more for letters and cheques sent through couriers. The government is planning to play by a set of new rules which would allow courier companies to deliver letters less than 150 gm only if they charge customers two-and-a-half times more than what the government charges for its Speed Post service. For non-urgent couriers, the difference would be as much as five times.

The sub-150 gm is a crucial high-volume category comprising bills, cheques, vouchers and letters. Based on the minimum weight and distance category of speed posts, customers would have to shell out an extra Rs 60-100. Nearly 40-45% of all couriers are under 150 gm.

While it is likely to render private courier firms uncompetitive in the sub-150-gm category, this is a reprieve from the government’s original move to ban courier companies from delivering letters below 500 gm.

However, the courier industry is not taking kindly to the watered-down version of the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill 2007 largely because the proposed amendment, if approved, could maim the Rs 3,500-crore Indian private courier segment, especially the small players, apart from limiting the choice for consumers.

According to Raj Kumar Saboo, chairman of Express Industry Council of India and deputy MD of First Flight Couriers, “the proposed clause makes little sense. It will not work”.

Even though there’s a feeling that people would shift loyalty to the postal department for all letters and material under 150 gm owing to the proposed policy changes, the fact remains that customers in large cities and towns, who are the mainstay of the courier industry, would still depend on personalised services offered by courier companies for urgent posts. “Couriers deliver on time and can be tracked. Customers would pay a premium if the need is urgent,” said an industry source.

The note for the Cabinet on the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, 2007 dated April 11 also envisages a separate set of fees for the registered service providers operating within and beyond India largely to regulate and control the number of private couriers. The department also proposes an annual fee for renewal of registration.