Post Office Act 1953

8 Conditions of transit of postal packets

(1) Post Office regulations may make provision as to—

(a) the time and mode of posting and delivery of postal packets and of the payment of postage and other sums payable in respect thereof under this Act;

(b) the registration of, giving of receipts for, or giving or obtaining of certificates of posting or delivery of, any postal packet, and any sums to be paid in addition to postage for that registration, receipt or certificate;

(c) special conditions and (regulations in respect of the transmission by post of postal packets consisting of books or papers (including letters to or from blind persons) impressed or otherwise prepared for the use of the blind, or of paper posted to any person for the purpose of being so impressed or prepared, or of any article specially adapted for the use of the blind ;

(d) stamps and covers for postal packets ;

(e) the form, dimensions and maximum weight of postal packets;

(f) what may be enclosed in postal packets;

(g) the use for making communications of packets not charged with postage as letters ;

(h) the extent to which written matter may be permitted on the covers of postal packets and the character and position of that written matter ;

(i) what circulars or commercial, legal or other documents shall be charged with postage otherwise than as letters ;

(j) what marks or indications referring to the contents of a registered newspaper may be written or printed on the newspaper or on the cover thereof without causing the packet to be charged with postage as a letter;

(k) the postponement of the despatch or delivery from a post office of printed or sample packets or post-cards to avoid delay in the despatch or delivery of letters;

(l) the re-direction of postal packets and the transmission of postal packets so re-directed either free of charge or subject to such postage or other charges as may be specified in the regulations ;

(m) the disposal of postal packets in course of transmission by post in cases where it appears to the satisfaction of the Postmaster-General that the addressee is dead,

and otherwise as to the conditions, prohibitions and restrictions subject to which postal packets may be posted, forwarded, conveyed or delivered; and different regulations may be made for different cases or different circumstances.

(2) Save as provided in section nine of the Crown Proceedings Act, 1947, the registration of or giving of a receipt for a postal packet, or the giving or obtaining of a certificate of posting or delivery of a postal packet, shall not render the Crown in any manner liable for the loss of the packet or the contents thereof.

(3) If any postal packet is posted or sent by post in contravention of this Act or of any warrant or regulation made thereunder, the transmission thereof may be refused and the packet may, if necessary, be detained and opened in the post office and may be returned to the sender thereof or forwarded to its destination, subject in either case to any Post Office regulations as to additional postage or other charges, or may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of as the Postmaster-General may direct.

(4) Where for any reason any postal packet can neither be delivered nor be returned to the sender, that packet may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of as the Postmaster-General may direct.