The Department of Posts is also looking at emulating the telecom sector by setting up a Universal Service Obligation Fund to finance its unviable operations in rural India, according to a senior DoT official.
Telecom operators are charged 5 per cent of the aggregate gross revenue for the USOF to fund rural telephony.
The proposed changes to the Indian Post Office Act, 1998, would imply that couriers sent through private players and premium services of the state-owned IndiaPost, such as Speed Post, Express Parcel, Media Post and Greeting Post, would attract an additional levy.
Courier companies, who at present do not come under any regulatory framework, will also have to submit detailed records of collections, deliveries, dispatches and their revenues to the government, as is done by the telecom operators.
The move, sources say, may be the first step towards barring courier companies from delivering letters weighing up to 500 grams. Private courier service is estimated to be a Rs 3,500-crore (rs 35 billion) industry.
"Unlike private players, IndiaPost has to deliver to the remotest areas of India, and cannot charge extra for this We had serious discussions on introducing the USO system. We have also taken up the idea with the World Bank," the official said
"Another option may be to extend the USO system only to companies whose revenue exceeds a certain amount," he added.
Sources said the presence of a large number of players, most of whom were regional and unorganised, would come in the way of effective monitoring. "But a framework can be worked out," the official said.
