Parcel shipments to US suspended at Hyderabad Foreign Post Office amid new rules

The Hyderabad Foreign Post Office suspended all parcel shipments to the US after a new American order ended the duty-free exemption. Only letters and small gift items are allowed. Private couriers, however, continue to accept US-bound shipments

Hyderabad: Hundreds of customers from Hyderabad and other parts of the State were disappointed after the Foreign Post Office (FPO) at Humayun Nagar suspended all parcel and article shipments to the United States.

A customs officer confirmed the indefinite suspension, stating that it would remain in effect until the central government issued further orders. The restriction applies to all parcels, regardless of value, with only letters, documents and gift items worth up to 100 dollars still being accepted.

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The suspension follows a US executive order issued on July 30, which ended the de minimis exemption that earlier allowed goods worth up to 800 dollars to be imported into the US duty-free.

The Humayun Nagar FPO normally handles around 100 to 150 parcels and articles to the US each month, along with 500 to 800 letters and documents.

While India Post began the suspension on August 25, the order is expected to cover all private courier services in Telangana and across the country starting August 29, according to sources in the Telangana Postal Department.

However, some private courier firms contested this. Ch Bala Kumar, a FedEx manager, said the Ministry of Communication’s order does not specifically mention private couriers and is therefore not applicable to companies like FedEx, Blue Dart and DHL. He said they were continuing to accept shipments, with his branch alone booking nearly 200 tons of parcels to the US every day.

The Telangana Postal Circle had established the Foreign Post Office at Humayun Nagar Sub Post Office, Masab Tank, in 2019 to handle international parcels and packages to 42 countries, including the US.