India to Resume Postal Service to US from Tomorrow

India will resume all categories of international postal services to the United States starting October 15, 2025. This development comes after a two-month suspension caused by regulatory changes in the United States. With a new system now in place to comply with American customs rules, India Post is once again ready to deliver to U.S. addresses without delays or legal barriers.

Why Postal Services Were Suspended

• In August 2025, the United States issued an Executive Order that changed how import duties are collected on low-value international parcels.
• The earlier duty-free threshold was removed, and all packages were made subject to import duties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
• This created a compliance challenge for India Post, which lacked a mechanism to handle advance duty collection as per U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) requirements.
• As a result, all outbound international postal shipments to the US were paused from August 22, 2025.

New Delivery Duty Paid Mechanism

To resolve the issue, India Post has introduced a Delivery Duty Paid (DDP) system. Under this setup,

• Import duties are collected in India at the time of booking the parcel.
• These duties are remitted in advance to U.S. Customs and Border Protection through a U.S.-approved “Qualified Party.”
• 50% of the parcel’s declared FOB value is charged as a flat duty, with no additional tariffs or category-based rates.
• This ensures faster customs clearance, prevents last-mile delays, and avoids surprise charges for recipients in the U.S.

Importantly, India Post has confirmed that existing tariffs remain unchanged, and no extra fee is charged for using the DDP facility.

What Services Are Being Restored

From October 15 onward, the following international services to the U.S. will resume,

• EMS (Express Mail Service)
• Air Parcels
• Registered Letters and Packets
• Tracked Packets

These services can be accessed through all India Post outlets, including post offices, International Business Centres, and the India Post online portal.

Key Facts

• Suspension began: August 22, 2025
• Resumption date: October 15, 2025
• Reason for suspension: New US import duty requirements under IEEPA
• New compliance model: Delivery Duty Paid (DDP)
• Duty rate: 50% of declared FOB value