FAQ on Parcel-COD

General

1. What is the latest version of Meghdoot Software? - 7.9.3

2. Whether a retail customer can book a COD Parcel ? - No

3. What are the minimum and maximum limits of COD Amount ? - Min: Rs.60. Max: Rs.50000

4. Which type of offices can book COD Parcels? - Post Offices and Parcel Booking Centres (PBC)

5. Whether Express Parcels can be booked through-out the country?

Yes. With effect from 01-11-2014, express Parcel service is made pan India and hence any office in

the country can book Express parcels to any other office of the country 

Customer Registration. 

6. Whether Customer Registration in Parcel COD can be done locally?

No. Customer Registration is to be done centrally in ParcelNet Website by the Divl. System Administrator.

7. Who will register a COD Parcel Customer and How ?

The Divl. System Administrator of the Booking post office is authorized to register a Customer. The

Customer registration has two parts

a)       eBiller registration : This is done in ePayment Website. A Unique ID called as eBiller ID will get generated. As ePayment is responsible for payment of the amount, the basic details like payment office etc are entered in eBiller registration.

b)                 ParcelNet registration: This is done in ParcelNet Website. Here the Customer details like Customer name, address, Booking Office , RTS delivery Post Office etc are provided. While registering the customer in ParcelNet website, the eBiller ID as generated in epayment website has to be selected. This forms the link between booking and Payment. The COD amount will be paid to the ePayment Biller based on the eBiller ID entered in ParcelNet Website while registering the customer. Hence utmost care to be taken while selecting the ePayment Biller ID.

8. Whether Non-COD Bulk Customers are to be registered with ePayment System?

􀂙 No. Only the Customers who want to avail COD facility have to be in ePayment System, as the ePayment system is responsible for Payment of COD amount.

􀂙 However, for all Bulk Customers (both COD and Non COD Customers), Customer registration in ParcelNet Website is mandatory.

9. How to convert a Non COD customer to a COD customer :

􀂙 The Divl. System Administrator can convert a Non COD customer into a COD customer, by using the “Modify Customer” option in ParcelNet Website.

10. How to make a Bulk Parcel customer inactive: (if any wrong information is furnished at the time of registering the customer)

􀂙 A Scanned copy of letter from Divl. Head concerned, requesting to make the Customer inactive, with all the details like customer name ,Customer Id has to be sent to CEPT by fax.

􀂙 CEPT will make the Customer inactive and informs back to the Divl. Head

􀂙 Then the Divl. Administrator can register the customer afresh with correct details

11. How to change the ePayment Biller ID which is already provided in ParcelNet

􀂙 It is not possible to change the ePayment Biller ID once it is provided in ParcelNet Website (at the time of COD customer registration).

􀂙 If it is noticed that the epayment Biller ID was wrongly entered, then the entire process of ParcelNet Customer registration has to be followed afresh with correct details

12. At the time of Customer Registration, if the Booking Office name is not appearing in parcelNet website, what to do?

It means that the office is not added in the RNet / ParcelNet master data of offices. Please send a request to CEPT enclosing the scanned copy of the “Add Office” form available in ParcelNet Website under downloads option

13. How to change the Office of Booking already configured by the Divl. Administrator

Please send a request to email, by attaching the scanned copy of the letter signed by the Divl. Head concerned. 

Booking Office 

Every COD Booking Office has to check the “Booking Articles” report available in ParcelNet website 􀃆

COD Reports, on the next day to ensure that the articles booked by it on the previous day are transmitted successfully to the ParcelNet Server.

This will eliminate the cases of articles received in delivery post offices without booking information. 

14. Which offices can book COD Parcels 

􀂙 Post Offices

􀂙 Parcel Booking Centres

BPCs, MBCs, Parcel Hubs, Express Parcel Hubs cannot book Business and Express Parcels. If parcel booking is proposed to be done from the premises of an existing BPC/MBC/Parcel Hub etc, then a new office with office type “PBC” has to be created in ParcelNet Website. After creation of the new PBC office, software has to be installed separately for this new office and then booking has to be done.

15. In which software the actual booking of COD Parcels will be done?

BNPL Parcel Software

16. In the newly created PBC, what applications have to be installed

Parcel Booking Centre is a separate office exclusively opened for booking of Bulk parcels. This office will have its own identity and unique office code. Hence it should have its own software and hardware. The following software is to be installed in a newly opened Parcel Booking C entre.

􀂙 Point of Sale and Despatch

􀂙 RNet Communication

􀂙 BNPL Parcel

If the Parcel Booking Centre is located in the same premises of an existing BPC/MBC etc., the Software already installed for the existing BPC/MBC cannot be used for Parcel Booking Centre. All the modules (Point of Sale, Despatch, BNPL Parcel, Rnet Comm) has to be installed separately for PBC, as it is a separate office.

17. In Parcel Booking Centre, what configuration has to be done in various modules

􀂙 The Office Type in Point of Sale has to be selected as “PBC”.

18. How the Customer details entered in the Website by the Divl. System Administrator reaches to the Booking Post office so that booking of Parcels can be started

􀂙 In Booking office, a provision is there in RNet Communication viz., “Get Customer master data”

􀂙 If this option is used, a request for customer data will be sent to CEPT Server and the Server will provide the latest customer master data of that office.

19. What to do if the Customer details are not coming to the Booking office from the Server

􀂙 Customer details will be sent by Server to the Booking office selected at the time of customer registration.

􀂙 If Customer details are not available in the Booking module i.e., BNPL Parcel even after requesting for Customer data, then please check “Customer Details” report in ParcelNet Website in which the booking office will be shown. This is to ensure that the booking office name is correctly configured by the Divl. System Administrator.

􀂙 If Booking office name is correct as per the “Customer Details” report, then check your office RNet Communication.

􀂙 If RNet Communication is working fine and Booking office is correctly selected, the booking data will be available in the local application.

􀂙 Otherwise, please raise ticket in HDMS

20. Whether the Barcode of a Cancelled Parcel can be re-used again in BNPL Parcel application

􀂙 No. The Barcode of a Cancelled Parcel cannot be used again for another article.

21. Where can I check local Tracking of BNPL Booked Articles

􀂙 The local tracking of both booking and Despatch events can be seen in Despatch module itself. Hence no separate tracking/search facility is there fore BNPL Parcel module. 

Sorting Office 

22. What is the name of Parcel Sorting Office?

The RMS office where parcel sorting is done is called either Parcel Hubs (OR) Express parcel Hub.

23. Whether Parcel Hub and Express Parcel Hub are one and the same or different.

􀂙 Parcel Hub and Express Parcel Hub are two different offices at RMS level. Therefore, in a

particular place, both Parcel Hub will be there and Express Parcel Hub will be there.

􀂙 The office which deals with Ordinary Parcels, Registered Parcel and Business Parcels (both COD

and Non COD) is called as Parcel Hub.

􀂙 The office which deals with Express Parcels exclusively is called as Express Parcel Hub.

24. Which software is used at RMS level for handling Parcels ?

A new software viz., ParcelNet is used for receiving, opening, sorting, closing and dispatch of the Bags.

This software is used both at Parcel Hubs and Express parcel Hubs. 

Delivery Office 

25. If in the virtual data received from RMS (Parcel Hub/Express Parcel Hub), a COD article is marked as non COD article, how the receipt of the article is to be taken in Postman module

􀂙 Don’t accept the virtual data as it is. Take the receipt of the articles inside the Parcel Bag manually, instead of automatically accepting the entire virtual data

􀂙 Alternatively, there is an option to the Supervisor of the Postman module to change the Non COD article into a COD Parcel. Please use this option, before invoicing the article to Postman/BO and change the article type to COD Parcel.

Note: A COD article should be taken receipt as a COD article only. It should not be taken receipt as a Non-COD Parcel

26. What is meant by electronic data

􀂙 Electronic data is the data pertaining to each COD Parcel, which contains information such as ArticleNumber, Article Type, eBiller ID, Customer ID, COD Amount, payment office etc. This data is required to be provided to the delivery office, as the delivery office has to send the amount back to payment office after delivery of the article.

27. Whether electronic data is a must for delivery of a COD Parcel

􀂙 Yes. Without electronic data (booking information of COD Parcel), it is not possible to deliver the COD Parcel.

28. How electronic data is transmitted to Delivery Post Office

􀂙 Electronic data is transmitted in two modes

a) Automatic

b) On request

􀂙 The automatic electronic data pertaining to each COD article will be transmitted automatically to the delivery Post Office, which is selected at the time of booking.

􀂙 If a delivery post office requests specifically for electronic data of a specific COD Parcel, On request electronic data will be provided to the requesting office.

29. What will happen to the automatic electronic data after reaching the Delivery Post Office

􀂙 The automatically transmitted electronic data will be waiting at delivery Post Office for receipt of the Physical article.

􀂙 Once the COD article is received physically (through Bag opening option) then the Postman module matches the physical receipt with electronic data and makes it available for invoicing.

30. What to do if the COD article is received missent

􀂙 If the COD article is received mis-sent and the address belongs to any other delivery post office of the Town/City, the same has to be sent to correct delivery post office by using the option in Postman module.

􀂙 If electronic data is not available for sending the article to the correct delivery post office, request the same using the option in Postman module.

􀂙 This has to be done before invoicing the article. Once article is invoiced, it is not possible to send the article to another post office. Such articles are to be returned to sender.

31. Possible reasons for non receipt of electronic data, even after giving request in Postman module

1) Booking information is not available with Central Server.

2) The COD article was already received by some other office and returns taken by that office as “Returned to Sender”.

32. What to do if electronic data is not received even after requesting for the same

􀂙 Check tracking of the article.

􀂙 If Booking information is available (as COD) and the article is not already marked as RTS by some other office, then there is some problem in your upgradation/RNet Communication.

􀂙 Please check whether your RNet application is working fine and if is working well (i.e., booking and delivery information of Parcels is appearing in ParcelNet website), please raise a ticket in HDMS.

33. What to do if booking information is not available in Tracking

􀂙 Take up the issue with Booking Office through your Circle/Region/Division.

􀂙 If the booking office has booked the COD parcels through normal process (BNPL Parcel software), it can re-transmit the data again using the provision in BNPL Parcel Software.

􀂙 If the booking office books the COD parcels through manual process, then the following action has to be taken by the delivery post office:

􀂃 Deliver the article through manual process

􀂃 Enter the disposal details in Disaster Recovery option of Postman module.

􀂃 Send the Service Money Order to Payment Office.

34. What to do if the article is already selected as “Pincode Mismatch - Returned to Sender” by some other office

􀂙 The article was already been received physically by some other office and returned to Sender. Hence such article cannot be delivered by any other office. It has to return the article to Sender through manual process.

35. What to do if the COD amount written on the article differs from that received in electronic data

􀂙 As per Directorate orders, such articles are to be processed manually. Thereafter, the amount has to be remitted through Service Money Order if the article is delivered and the details are to be entered in Disaster Recovery option.

36. How information from Delivery Post Office is transmitted to Central Server

􀂙 Two communication applications are running in Delivery Post office

􀂃 RNet Communication will transmit the delivery information to ParcelNet Server for the purpose of various MIS reports and tracking

􀂃 ePayment Communication will transmit the delivery information to ePayment Server for payment of the delivered COD amount to the BNPL customer.

􀂙 Submit Account/BO Verification is a must to transmit the COD delivery information to ePayment Server.

37. How to transmit the old cases, where submit account/BO verification was not done.

􀂙 The cases of non performing of Submit Account are to be referred to CEPT.

􀂙 BO Verification can be done now also, by selecting the proper BO Summary date.

38. How to send the Service Money Order if articles are delivered manually and BNPL customer address is not known.

􀂙 The Service Money Orders are to be sent only to the Postmaster of the Payment Post Office.

􀂙 The payment office details can be checked in “COD article details report “ in ParcelNet website.

39. Possible reasons for non-transmission of Delivery information to ePayment Server

􀂙 Submit Account of beat/window is not Done

􀂙 BO Verification not done in case of articles delivered through Branch Post offices.

􀂙 There is mis-match in the BO names appearing in Postman module and Sub Accounts module. If any mismatch is there, then the articles delivered by such B.O.s will not be transmitted to ePayment Server . Therefore, please modify such BO names in Sub Accounts module to exactly match with that available in Postman module.

􀂙 The ePayment application is not upgraded. The latest ePayment version is 7.9.1.

􀂙 ePayment Registered machine has been changed and the communication has been sent from another machine other than the registered machine.

􀂙 Communication has been done using the Data Card.

If all the above conditions are satisfied, the COD Amount information will definitely be transmitted to ePayment Server without any problem. 

Payment Post Office 

40. In which module COD Parcel Payment will be made at the Payment Post Office

The COD amount of all the articles delivered across the country will be transmitted by ePayment communication to the Payment Post Office. The data so received will be available in the Treasury module of the Payment Post Office. Hence payment is effected in Meghdoot Treasury module.

41. What configuration required at COD Payment Office

􀂙 Configure Point of Sale server name and Service Tax details in Treasury module

􀂙 The work distribution to the treasurer for making COD payment is to be done.