Question 1

How are India Post parcel rates calculated?

Accepted Answer

By weight step and distance zone. The parcel falls into a weight step, and the route falls into one of four zones — Local, Within State, Zone/Metro, or Other States. The step and the zone together give the postage. Part-used weight steps are charged in full, so a 1.2 kg parcel pays the 1.5 kg rate.

Question 2

What are the four zones?

Accepted Answer

Local is within the same city or delivery district. Within State is between two places in the same postal circle. Zone/Metro covers metro-to-metro lanes and traffic within the same postal zone. Other States is everything else in India. The zone depends on both ends of the journey, not on the distance alone.

Question 3

Is GST included in these rates?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and so is everything else. The tables on this page are the Daakly rate card: India Post’s postage, our commission and the GST on both, in one figure. The number in the table is what the parcel costs — there is no tax line and no fee line to add afterwards.

Question 4

What is volumetric weight and when does it apply?

Accepted Answer

Volumetric weight is length × width × height in centimetres divided by 5,000, giving a figure in kilograms. Shipments are billed on whichever is greater, actual or volumetric. It applies whenever a parcel is bulky relative to its weight — a box of cushions or packing material, for example.

Question 5

What is the cheapest weight to send a parcel at?

Accepted Answer

The tariff starts at a 500 g step, and that step is a floor rather than a slab a lighter parcel escapes: a 120 g parcel is charged the 500 g rate because the parcel card has no row beneath it. If you are sending something very light and it is a document, letter post is a different product and may be cheaper.

Question 6

What is the last-mile charge?

Accepted Answer

A separate small charge printed on the same rate card. It applies to India Post Parcel on shipments up to 5 kg, and the amount depends on where the parcel enters the network — induction at a delivery office costs less than at a parcel hub or processing centre. It is shown on this page in full, and confirmed at booking, because which one applies is decided when the parcel is handed in.

Question 7

How heavy a parcel can I send?

Accepted Answer

The rate card runs to 35 kg, and that is the ceiling for a single parcel on both services. Anything heavier has to be split across multiple consignments.

Question 8

Do these rates change?

Accepted Answer

India Post revises its tariff periodically, and this card follows. The effective date is printed above every rate table on this site, and the exact charge for any shipment is confirmed at the moment you book it.