India to resume all international postal services to US from October 15

The Department of Posts on Tuesday (October 14) announced that India will resume all categories of international postal services to the United States from October 15. Services were suspended in August 2025 following a US executive order withdrawing de minimis treatment for all postal shipments.

The suspension affected parcels, express mail and other postal consignments sent from India to the US, as they are no longer eligible for duty-free entry.

Following discussions between India Post and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), both sides have agreed on a mechanism to restart services. Under the new arrangement, all applicable customs duties will be collected in India and remitted directly to CBP.

As per CBP guidelines, customs duty will be levied at a flat rate of 50% of the declared Free on Board (FOB) value. Importantly, the Department of Posts clarified that no additional fee will be charged from customers for this Delivery Duty Paid (DDP) process.

The suspension of services follows the US administration’s Executive Order No. 14324, issued on July 30, 2025, which revoked the duty-free exemption on imports up to $800 under the de minimis rule.

As a result, all goods entering the US became subject to customs duties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) framework, although gifts worth up to $100 remained exempt.

In response, India Post Booking and transmission of all US-bound mail was halted effective August 25, citing the absence of defined mechanisms for duty collection and data exchange required by US Customs and Border Protection.

Customers who had already booked items that were not shipped were offered postage refunds, as the Postal Department worked with US officials to restore normal postal operations.