68. Acceptance of telegrams on deposit account system and guarantee system.
(1)At departmental telegraph offices and at such combined offices as the Head of a Circle may specify in this behalf, inland telegrams may be accepted without prepayment from any person who has (a) made at the telegraph office from which the telegrams are to be sent a minimum deposit in cash or Government promissory notes or National Savings Certificate of a sum equivalent to the estimated cost of fourteen days telegram plus fees for the upkeep of accounts, or (b) furnished to such telegraph office a letter of guarantee in the form annexed to this rule from a bank approved by the Director General in this behalf for a sum equivalent to the estimated cost aforesaid:Provided that subject to the approval of the Head of a Circle, the deposit to be made or guarantee to be furnished by persons whose average expenditure on telegrams at the office in question exceeds Rs. 800 a month shall be, or shall be for, Rs. 1,000 only and that the account in such cases may be rendered monthly.(2)The telegraph office concerned shall submit to each such person a weekly account showing the cost of the telegrams accepted under this rule and the fees charged for the upkeep of the account :Provided that the account may, at the request of the person concerned, be rendered at intervals greater than a week if the deposit or sum guaranteed is increased accordingly.(3)The fees for the upkeep of accounts referred to in the two preceding sub-rules shall be at the rate of rupees five for every batch of twenty telegrams or part thereof.(4)No telegram shall be accepted under this rule from a person who fails to pay the deposit account bill within two weeks of the date on which it is received or whose deposit is exhausted to whose debt to the telegraph office equals or exceeds the amount secured by his letter of guarantee, until the deposit has been renewed, or the debt paid and, if it has been paid by the guarantee bank under the terms of the letter of guarantee a fresh letter of guarantee has been furnished.Form Of Letter Of Guarantee From BanksTo,The President of IndiaIn consideration of your having at our request agreed to waive the deposit you are entitled to demand from Mr./Messrs....(hereafter referred to as the customer) under rule 68 of the Indian Telegraph Rules, 1951, in respect of Telegrams booked without prepayment from ...........Telegraph Office, we undertake to pay the amounts of the bills issued by the Posts and Telegraphs Department on behalf of the President of India without questioning the accuracy thereof if the said customer fails/fail to pay the same within two weeks from the date of its receipt :Provided that we shall in no event be liable to pay a sum greater than Rs..........We further agree that any extension of time or forbearance towards the customer or any act, omission or neglect on your part will not absolve us from our liability under this Guarantee.This Guarantee will be a continuing guarantee and will not be revoked by us for a period of five years from this date without your prior consent in writing.(Signature)Signed and sealed on behalf of Date this.......day of .......................
