Indian Army POs

[Peter High]

I have received the following queries from an Indian correspondent/collector and would appreciate any useful comments/answers please so that I might help him.
Attached is a parcel piece with pasted Army Form W-5192A, sent on
January 31,1946 from Indian FPO 23 in Surabaya, Indonesia (Nederland
Indië) where it was located from November 7,1945 to May 10,1946.

Virk mentions in his "Indian Army Post Offices in the Second World
War" that from 1943 onwards, different schemes for sending forces
parcels to England were introduced including one called "Gift Parcel
to GB" which was exempted duty provided it followed the instructions
and contained the items from the list of restricted/permitted items
which could be sent.

Here are some questions.

1. What was the specific Postal Notice including date and contents,
which issued instructions for "Forces Gift Parcels to GB" from Indian
APS?

2. What was the Indian forces parcel rate to GB in January 1946
(including the dates during which that specific rate was in effect)?

3. Is the 72c postage mentioned by the sender for parcel weighing
under 5lb correct? What was the forces parcel rate to GB in effect
under BMA in Malayan currency?

4. When BMA stamps were allowed to pay postage at Indian BPOs and FPOs?

5. What was the conversion rate of Malayan cents to Indian currency in
January 1946, fixed by Indian P&T Department for Indian APS in Malay?

6. What was the rates of duty applicable on parcels sent from Surabaya
under SEAC to GB in 1946?

7. When the modified Army Form W-5192A was issued to Indian forces?

Many thanks
Peter

[Michael Dobbs]

Peter

The following extract may help:

Forces' Gift Parcels Concession Scheme

Army Council Instruction 812/46 dated 21 August 1946 [The National Archives WO293/36] explained that gifts sent to the United Kingdom by members of HM Forces serving overseas were not, as such, exempt from customs duty or purchase tax.  However, the concession by which Forces' gift parcels could be admitted free of these charges applied only when the parcel complied with all of the following conditions:

(a) Use of Army Form W.5192: Each parcel had to have a concession label, AF W.5192, of a value sufficient to cover the value of the contents.

(b) Value limitation: The total value of parcels sent by any individual was not to exceed £12 in any one year, beginning 1st July of each year.

(c) Authentication of labels: Concession labels (AF W.5192) had to be properly completed and otherwise comply with the instructions for the issue of such labels (see below).

(d) Declaration of contents: The value and description of each item included in the parcel had to be stated on the label in the space provided.  The inclusion of undeclared articles or articles in excess of their value permitted by the label would render the whole parcel liable to confiscation.

(e) Weight limitation: The weight of any one parcel was not to exceed 11lb (including packing).

(f) Restrictions and limitations on contents: The following conditions governed the contents of parcels sent under label AF W.5192.  They over-rode any different instructions printed on labels then in use and particular attention was drawn to the limits in the weight of tobacco, cigarettes and cigars in parcels which bore labels below £2.  It stated that old stocks of the 10/- (10s) label incorrectly referred to ½ lb of tobacco and were to be amended before issue, but that failure to amend an occasional label would not be accepted by the Customs as justification for including more tobacco, etc than was what was allowed for under these revised conditions (and it referred to sub-paragraph (iii) below))

(i) Foodstuffs: Parcels were not to contain more than 7lb of foodstuffs generally or more than 2lb of any one foodstuff.

(ii) Drinkable liquor: No liquor of any kind was allowed to be included in such parcels and "liquor" covered spirits, wine and any other alcoholic drink.

(iii) Tobacco, cigarettes and cigars:

(1) Parcels which bore £2 labels or above: The maximum quantity or tobacco, etc which could be packed in such parcels was ½ lb of tobacco (or 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars); this was the absolute upper limit for any parcel and labels in excess of £2 did not qualify for a higher quantity.

(2) Parcels which bore labels below £2: The maximum quantities for these parcels were as follows:

One 10/- label - 2 oz of tobacco (or 50 cigarettes)
Two 10/- labels - 4 oz of tobacco (or 100 cigarettes)
Three 10/- labels - 6 oz of tobacco (or 150 cigarettes)

(iv) Scent: No parcel could include more than ½ pint of scent.

The ACI contained a warning that parcels which infringed any of the above conditions would be subject to duty and/or tax on the full contents; the use of an unamended label was not acceptable to Customs as grounds for passing excess or prohibited goods.  Concession labels were available in the following denominations and distinctive colours:

10/- (blue) £6 (red)
£2 (white) £8 (yellow)
£4 (green)

Two or more labels could be used together to build up intermediate values, but no parcel was to exceed £12 in value.  The labels were only valid for parcels despatched by post.  They had to be affixed to the parcel by the individual to whom they had been issued and were not transferable to any other person.  The following instructions applied with regards to the issue of labels:

(a) Issues were only to be made by the appointed issuing officer of the unit, who had to be a commissioned or warrant officer.

(b) The label had to be signed by the issuing officer and stamped with the unit stamp at the time of issue.  The issue was also to be recorded in the recipient's Army Book 64, Part 1 (AB.64 - Soldier's Service and Pay Book) (or AB.439 - Officer's Record of Service in the case of officers).

(c) No individual was to be issued with labels in excess of his annual entitlement of £12 in value.

(d) The old stocks of 10/- (10s) labels which incorrectly referred to ½ lb of tobacco were to be amended in manuscript by the insertion of the words "2 oz for each 10s label up to a maximum of" after "More than".  Unamended forms were not to be used.

(e) Any other alteration or amendment (e.g. to the printed value) rendered the label invalid, unless it was countersigned by the issuing officer.  The amended value of the label was to be recorded as in sub-paragraph (b) above.

(f) Labels were to be issued only to personnel of HM Forces, including Dominion and Allied personnel and Women's Auxiliary Services.  Members of the Civilian Services (NAAFI, YMCA, Red Cross, ENSA, Control Commission and Civil Government, etc) were not eligible.

Commanding Officers were to exercise the strictest control over the issue and use of labels.  It was stated that a number of cases had been reported where servicemen had obtained labels in excess of their entitlement or despatched goods in excess of the declared contents or of the value of the label.  These and other irregularities could lead to the withdrawal of the concession for the individual concerned.  In cases of fraudulent misuse of labels, the contents of the parcels were liable to confiscation and in addition disciplinary action and civil proceedings could be taken against the individuals concerned.

I have attached it also as a Word document.  I feel that one would need to research local command routine orders for India Command or SEAC to try and get more detail and possibly answer his further queries.

Mike

[Peter High]

Thanks Mike. I have passed it on to my correspondent in India.
Rgds. Peter