Note 6. – The keys and plates of the letter-boxes opened by the postmen, village postmen or runners must be kept in the custody of the branch postmaster and never given out to them except when it becomes necessary to clear the letter-boxes. Note 7. – Branch offices which have to make more than one despatch in a day should use date stamp with hour types. 60. Certificate of posting. – (1) Certificates of posting (MS-19) should be granted to the public under the conditions and in the manner laid down in the Post Office Guide, Pt. I, an extract from which is reproduced below :(h) A certificate of posting may be obtained in respect of any postal-article for which a receipt is not given by the post office, subject to the following conditions, namely :(a) the certificate of posting written in ink must be presented to an officer on duty at the post office along with the articles to be posted, during the hours fixed for the grant of such certificates. (b) the certificate must contain an exact copy of the addresses on the articles to which it relates and must have a postage stamp or stamps affixed there to in payment of the prescribed fee. (c) The actual number of articles in respect of which the certificate is required must be written in words at the foot of the certificate. Not more than three articles should be entered in a single certificate, and each certificate should be presented along with the articles entered in it. (ii) The officer on duty will compare the number of the articles presented and the addresses on them with the entries in the certificate and, if the latter be correct, will obliterate the postage stamps, note the time of posting and impress the date-stamp upon the certificate. The certificate will then be returned to the person who presented it.
Note. – Printed forms of certificate of posting are obtainable at all post offices free of charge, and the use of these forms is recommended. Books containing 50 forms are also procurable at all principal post offices at a cost as prescribed from time to time. (2) If a certificate of posting prepared on a piece of plain paper is presented, it should be accepted and pasted on to one of the prescribed forms (MS-19) before it is returned to the sender. 61. Articles found open, damaged or without contents. – (1) If an unregistered article taken from the letter-box, or received in sorting, is observed to be open, torn, or
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