The Department of Posts on Tuesday announced that it will discontinue select outward international letter mail services with effect from January 1, 2026, as part of a broader effort to modernise postal services and align them with global standards.
According to an official release, the decision addresses long-standing challenges such as limited or no tracking, longer delivery timelines, increasing customs and security requirements in destination countries, and reduced acceptance of such items by several foreign postal administrations.
Services to be discontinued include the Registered Small Packet service, in line with Universal Postal Union (UPU) decisions that restrict registration to document-only items. The Department will also stop outward Small Packet services containing goods sent via Sea, Surface Air Lifted (SAL), or Air, along with Surface Letter Mail Service and SAL Letter Mail Service for outward letter post items.
The Postal Department emphasised that the rationalisation exercise is aimed at improving service quality and will not adversely impact exporters or customers. Following the changes, registration will continue to be available for document-only items booked in Air mode, covering categories such as Letters, Post Cards, Printed Papers, Aerograms, Blind Literature and M-bags.
Existing UPU provisions for Blind Literature and M-bags will remain unchanged. Items of Blind Literature sent by or addressed to a blind person or an organisation for the blind will continue to be exempt from postal charges, except for applicable air surcharges, subject to destination country regulations.
Highlighting alternative options, the Department of Posts said it already offers robust and reliable services for sending goods abroad, particularly to support exporters, MSMEs and individual customers. Users have been encouraged to shift to services such as the International Tracked Packet Service (ITPS) and other international parcel offerings, which provide end-to-end tracking, faster and more reliable delivery, improved customs compliance, enhanced security, and transparent pricing, especially for small exporters and e-commerce sellers.
All concerned officers have been instructed to ensure smooth implementation of the changes and to guide customers towards suitable alternatives.
The Department said the move is in line with global best practices and UPU decisions, forming part of a forward-looking initiative to strengthen international postal services amid evolving global e-commerce and logistics requirements.