The courier industry has also taken exception to the government's attempts to fix a registration fee and renewal fee. For instance, a one-time registration fee of Rs 10 lakh is being proposed to be fixed for a service provider seeking registrations within and beyond India for authorising carriage of postal articles. Also, there would be a fee of Rs 20,000 in case the area of operation is within India.
The amendments also propose a renewal fee of Rs 5 lakh per annum for service providers in and outside India and Rs 10,000 per annum if the area of operation is within India. Lastly, the government will reserve the right to make timely revisions on registration and renewal fee after notifying it in the official gazette. Predictably, the changes, including the fee, have taken the private couriers by surprise. "During our meetings with the government, we came out with a distinct impression that the industry would be completely free," says Saboo.
As regulation of the industry is at the heart of the proposed changes, the amendments propose a Mail Regulatory and Development Authority headed by a government-appointed person holding a three-year term. The desire to rein in the couriers is also ironical—a bulk of the government's postal needs is itself met by the private courier network!
Last year, when the staid khaki uniform of the humble postman was replaced by the more corporate-looking blue, observers hoped and waited for some concrete initiatives that would revive the postal service. But that did not happen. Now, the government has fallen back on the oldest trick in the book to protect a service that's served the country for over 150 years.
