The Department of Posts has issued a Public Notice dated 21 August 2026 restoring international mail booking to three countries and confirming that services to seven other destinations remain suspended until further notice.
The notice also settles what happens to articles that have been stuck at Offices of Exchange since 2 March 2026 — they may be returned to senders, and customers may claim a refund of postage.
If you work at a counter, this is one to read properly. Customers will ask.
Notice at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Issued by | Department of Posts (IR & GB Division), Dak Bhawan, New Delhi |
| Notice No. | DA-19/25/2024-DA-DOP |
| Dated | 21-08-2026 |
| Type | Public Notice |
| In continuation of | Public Notice of even number dated 22-07-2026 (Annexure-B) |
| Countries resumed | 3 — Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon |
| Countries still suspended | 7 |
| Effective from | Immediate effect |
| Pending articles at Office of Exchange since | 02-03-2026 |
| Refund provision | Postage refund on claim, per OM No. DA-26/3/2020-DA dated 16-07-2026 |
| Signed by | Dr. Ankush Bhagat, ADG (International Mail) |
Services Resumed — But Note the Categories Carefully
Alternative transit arrangements have now been established for three countries, and postal services to them resume with immediate effect.
| Country | Mail categories resumed |
|---|---|
| Iraq | Letter, Air Parcel & ITPS |
| Kuwait | EMS, Letter, Air Parcel & ITPS |
| Lebanon | Letter & Air Parcel |
The categories are not identical, and this is the part counters will get wrong.
- Kuwait is the only one of the three where EMS has resumed. Do not book EMS to Iraq or Lebanon on the strength of this notice.
- Lebanon has not had ITPS restored — only Letter and Air Parcel.
- Iraq has Letter, Air Parcel and ITPS, but no EMS.
Booking a category that has not been restored means the article sits at the Office of Exchange and comes back weeks later. Check the row before you accept.
One caution to give every customer: the notice states plainly that customers may experience delays in delivery due to prevailing operational constraints and the transit arrangements. Resumed does not mean normal. Say so at the counter rather than letting the customer discover it later.
For quick reference: EMS is Express Mail Service, the fastest international option. ITPS is International Tracked Packet Service, used for small tracked packets. Air Parcel is the standard parcel product carried by air.
Seven Countries Still Suspended
The notice states that due to the continuing geopolitical situation, air connectivity and transit arrangements have not yet been restored for these destinations:
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Iran
- Israel
- Kiribati
- Nicaragua
- Palestine
Postal services to these destinations remain suspended until further notice.
Do not accept bookings for any of these. There is no date attached and no partial resumption — the suspension is complete.
What Happens to Articles Already Stuck
This is the operationally important part, and the part customers have been waiting on.
Articles that have been lying pending at the Office of Exchange since 2 March 2026, which could not be transported because onward connections were unavailable, may be returned to the senders.
And on money:
Customers may be allowed a refund of postage upon submission of a claim, subject to the condition that no other liability shall be borne or accepted by the Department of Posts, as per OM No. DA-26/3/2020-DA dated 16-07-2026.
Three things worth being precise about when you explain this at a counter:
A claim has to be submitted. The refund is not automatic. The customer needs to put in a claim for it.
Only postage is refunded. Not the value of the contents, not any consequential loss, not compensation for the delay. The notice is explicit that the Department accepts no other liability.
The governing instruction is OM No. DA-26/3/2020-DA dated 16-07-2026. If a customer disputes the scope of the refund, that is the document to point your Divisional Office towards.
Being clear about the limits up front avoids a much harder conversation later. A customer who is told “you will get your postage back, not the value of what you sent” at the counter accepts it far better than one who finds out after filing.
Booking Has Been Enabled in the Systems
The notice carries a copy to GM (CEPT) with a request to enable booking for the resumed mail categories in POS, DNK and IBC with immediate effect.
So the system side should already be open for Iraq, Kuwait and Lebanon in the categories listed.
If your counter is still throwing an error for one of these three destinations, that is a systems issue to escalate — not a reason to tell the customer the service is still suspended. Raise it through your Divisional Office to CEPT.
Background: Why This Happened
The suspension originally came through a Public Notice of the same number dated 22 July 2026, which temporarily suspended booking of international mail to certain destinations because of the force majeure situation in the Middle East and the resulting disruption of air connectivity.
International mail moves on commercial passenger and cargo flights. When those routes stop, mail has nowhere to go. It is not a postal decision so much as an aviation consequence — which is why the notice keeps referring to transit arrangements rather than postal capacity.
The Department has confirmed the situation is being monitored continuously, and that services to the suspended destinations will be resumed as soon as suitable flight connectivity and transit arrangements are restored.
Expect further notices under this same number as more countries come back online.
What This Means for Counter Staff
Update your counter list today. Three additions, seven still off. The categories differ by country — do not work from memory.
Set expectations at the time of booking. Delays are expected even on resumed routes. A sentence at the counter saves a complaint later.
Know the refund line. Postage back, on claim, nothing more. Say it plainly.
Keep the notice handy. For the seven suspended countries, customers will push back. Being able to show a dated Directorate notice ends the argument in ten seconds.
Watch for the next notice. This is the second in a series under the same file number. There will be more.
Why Exam Aspirants Should Read This Too
This notice is not exam-specific, but it touches several things that appear regularly in departmental general awareness papers:
Office of Exchange — the designated offices where international mail is processed for despatch and receipt. Knowing what one does and where they sit in the mail chain is standard material.
International mail products — EMS, ITPS, Air Parcel, Letter. The distinctions between them come up.
IR & GB Division — the International Relations and Global Business Division of the Directorate, which handles international mail policy.
Force majeure and liability — the principle that the Department refunds postage but accepts no further liability where service fails for reasons outside its control. That limitation-of-liability idea appears across postal rules.
Current operational circulars like this one are worth reading in your own right. They are how the general awareness paper’s subject matter actually behaves in practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Which countries have international mail services resumed? Iraq, Kuwait and Lebanon, with immediate effect from 21 August 2026.
Q. Which mail categories have resumed? Iraq: Letter, Air Parcel and ITPS. Kuwait: EMS, Letter, Air Parcel and ITPS. Lebanon: Letter and Air Parcel.
Q. Can I book EMS to Iraq or Lebanon? No. EMS has resumed only for Kuwait among these three.
Q. Which countries are still suspended? Guatemala, Honduras, Iran, Israel, Kiribati, Nicaragua and Palestine.
Q. When will services to the suspended countries resume? No date has been given. The notice says services will resume as soon as suitable flight connectivity and transit arrangements are restored.
Q. What happens to my article that has been stuck since March? Articles lying pending at the Office of Exchange since 2 March 2026 may be returned to senders.
Q. Can I get a refund? Customers may be allowed a refund of postage on submission of a claim, as per OM No. DA-26/3/2020-DA dated 16-07-2026.
Q. Will I be compensated for the value of the contents? No. The notice states that no other liability shall be borne or accepted by the Department of Posts beyond the refund of postage.
Q. Will there be delays on the resumed routes? Yes. The notice specifically warns that customers may experience delays in delivery due to operational constraints and the transit arrangements.
Q. Has booking been enabled in the systems? Yes. CEPT has been asked to enable booking for the resumed categories in POS, DNK and IBC with immediate effect.
Final Word
Three countries back, seven still closed, and a clear answer at last for everyone whose article has been sitting at an Office of Exchange since March.
If you are at a counter, the single thing to get right is the category table. Kuwait has EMS; Iraq and Lebanon do not. Lebanon has no ITPS. Booking outside those lines just sends the article on a long round trip.
And if a customer asks about a refund: postage, on claim, nothing further. Better said clearly now than argued about later.