Lorry Receipt (LR) in India: Legal Status and Required Fields

A truck of air-conditioner spares stands at a roadside check for a day because the number printed on the lorry receipt does not match the transport document number in the e-way bill. Weeks later, the same transporter's LR turns up in a short-delivery claim with no declared value, no agreed delivery date and a tick in neither the section 10 box nor the section 11 box. Everyone calls it "the bilty", and almost nobody has read the form the law prescribes for it.

The lorry receipt is a statutory document with a prescribed form, a fixed set of particulars and specific evidential weight. Shippers and transporters who issue it in that form, and reconcile its number with the e-way bill and invoice before the truck leaves, avoid most detentions and start any claim with the facts already on paper.

• What this guide covers: where the LR comes from in the Carriage by Road Act, 2007, the particulars Form 8 of the 2011 Rules requires, what the LR proves, who may issue it, and how it differs from the e-way bill.
• What it adds: a field-level template, a detention trace, a worked unclaimed-goods ledger in rupees and dollars, the US comparison under 49 CFR 373.101, and a review checklist.

The lorry receipt is the goods receipt that section 9 makes compulsory

In law, the LR is the "goods receipt" defined in section 2(g) of the Carriage by Road Act, 2007 and issued under section 9. Trade names such as LR, GR, bilty, docket or consignment note all describe this one document, and the Act requires every common carrier to issue it.

Section 9(1) fixes the moment: on completion of loading where the consignor loads the goods, and otherwise on the carrier's acceptance of them. Section 9(2) requires the receipt in triplicate with the original given to the consignor, and section 9(4) requires it to include the carrier's undertaking on liability under section 10 or section 11. The Act repealed the Carriers Act, 1865 through section 22.

Lorry receipt issuance in India follows section 9 of the Carriage by Road Act, 2007: the registered common carrier issues the goods receipt in triplicate, original to the consignor, on completion of loading or acceptance, in Form 8 under rule 10(4) of the Carriage by Road Rules, 2011, carrying 14 prescribed particulars.

The Act's definition of "common carrier" in section 2(a) is wide. It covers anyone collecting, storing, forwarding or distributing goods carried by goods carriages under a goods receipt, or transporting goods for hire by road for all persons without discrimination, and it expressly includes goods booking companies, contractors, agents, brokers and courier agencies. Only the Government is excluded.

Fourteen particulars on Form 8 and the forwarding note behind them

Form 8 is short and specific: fourteen numbered particulars, a declaration on dangerous goods and the signature of the registered common carrier or its authorised agent. Most commercial LR books omit several of them, usually the booking section, the agreed delay period and the likely delivery date.

The goods receipt rests on the consignor's goods forwarding note. Section 8 requires the consignor to execute it with a declaration of value and of any dangerous or hazardous goods, makes the consignor responsible for its particulars and obliges the consignor to indemnify the carrier for errors. Rule 10(1) prescribes Form 7 in duplicate, and rule 10(3) has the carrier return an acknowledged copy.

Form 8 has no line for the vehicle registration number, GSTINs or the e-way bill number, yet section 4(8) bars loading beyond the gross vehicle weight in the registration certificate "whose registration number is mentioned" in the forwarding note or receipt. Print the vehicle number on every LR, and add the GST and e-way bill fields your tax process needs, as extra lines rather than replacements.

{
  "gfnNo": "BWD-GFN-8812", "gfnDate": "2026-11-09",
  "grNo": "2611/BWD/0457", "grDate": "2026-11-09",
  "consignor": { "name": "Consignor Pvt Ltd", "address": "Bhiwandi, MH", "gstin": "27XXXXXXXXXXXXX" },
  "consignee": { "name": "Consignee Traders", "address": "Indore, MP", "gstin": "23XXXXXXXXXXXXX" },
  "goods": "Air-conditioner spares, 46 cartons", "declaredValueInr": 412000,
  "packages": 46, "weightKg": 1180,
  "origin": "Bhiwandi", "destination": "Indore", "distanceKm": 590,
  "bookedUnder": "section10",
  "likelyDeliveryDate": "2026-11-11", "agreedDelayDays": 2,
  "freightInr": { "amount": 21400, "basis": "to-pay" },
  "higherRiskChargeInr": 0, "dangerousGoods": false,
  "vehicleNo": "MH04XX1234",
  "ewb": { "ewbNo": "XXXXXXXXXXXX", "transDocNo": "2611/BWD/0457", "transDocDate": "09/11/2026", "transMode": "1" }
}
Checks before dispatch:
  len(grNo) <= 15                        e-way bill API limit on transDocNo
  ewb.transDocNo == grNo                  exact match, no spaces
  declaredValueInr == GFN item 4 value    consignor's declaration
  bookedUnder in {section10, section11}   never blank

What an LR proves in a dispute, and where its evidence stops

An LR is prima facie evidence, not conclusive proof. Section 9(3) makes the goods receipt prima facie evidence of the weight or measure, the other particulars and the number of packages stated in it, so a carrier who wants to dispute those figures must produce better evidence than the receipt it issued.

Delivery has a matching presumption. Rule 12(6) treats delivery to the consignee as prima facie evidence of delivery as described in the forwarding note, unless the consignee gives written notice of the general nature of the loss or damage at handover; for loss or damage that is not apparent, the notice is due within six days. Rule 12(7) confines the carrier's responsibility to transit plus three calendar days after arrival.

• Count and weight disputes: the LR's package count and weight bind the carrier at first instance, so a short-loaded truck must be noted on the LR at loading, not argued later.
• Value disputes: the value comes from the consignor's forwarding note, and section 8(3) makes the consignor indemnify the carrier for incorrect or incomplete particulars.
• Undeclared goods: section 12(3) puts examination costs on the consignor and clears the carrier of loss from detention when an authority finds prohibited or tax-unpaid goods not described in the forwarding note.
• Notice of claim: section 16 bars a suit unless written notice of loss or damage reached the carrier within 180 days of booking; our legal proof of delivery guide covers that evidence.

Who may issue an LR: registration, net worth and the ten-year certificate

Only a registered common carrier should issue an LR, because section 3 bars anyone from the business of a common carrier without a certificate of registration. A shipper that books through an unregistered broker loses the statutory framework that makes the receipt enforceable and gives the registering authority power to act on complaints.

Registration is granted by the State or Regional Transport Authority and, under section 4(6), is valid for ten years. The application in Form 1 asks for a work criterion, such as registration certificates for two commercial vehicles or a contract from a company of repute, and a net worth of ₹5 lakh, rising to ₹20 lakh for carriers that will offer section 11 higher-risk carriage.

• Fees on Form 1: a ₹5,000 security deposit, a ₹1,000 registration fee, a ₹1,000 renewal fee after ten years and a ₹250 processing fee.
• Display duty: section 4(7)(d) requires the certificate, or an attested copy, at the main office and every branch.
• Register of transactions: rule 8(1) requires a register in Form 5 at the main and branch offices, updated quarterly, listing GFN and GR numbers, packages and weight, origin, destination, commodity, freight and cancelled documents.
• Complaints: section 5(2) lets the authority act on a consignor's complaint of non-issuance of a goods receipt, undisclosed whereabouts, unjustified detention, undisclosed delivery charges or unpaid truck owners.
• Penalty: section 18(1) sets a fine of up to ₹5,000 for a first contravention of section 3 and up to ₹10,000 for later ones.

LR versus e-way bill: two laws joined by one transport document number

The LR and the e-way bill answer different questions under different laws. The LR, under the 2007 Act, records the carriage contract between consignor and carrier; the e-way bill, under rule 138 of the CGST Rules, 2017, reports a movement of goods to the tax administration. The LR number is the field that links them.

Rule 138(1) requires a registered person moving goods of consignment value above ₹50,000 to furnish Part A on the portal before movement. Where the goods are handed to a transporter for road carriage and the registered person has not generated the e-way bill, rule 138(3) has the transporter generate it from Part A. Validity runs one day per 200 km for ordinary cargo under rule 138(10).

E-way bill generation through the NIC e-way bill API v1.03 carries the lorry receipt as transDocNo, limited to 15 alphanumeric characters with slash and hyphen allowed, plus transDocDate and transMode 1 for road; consignments above ₹50,000 under CGST rule 138(1) should carry an LR number that matches character for character.

For GST on the freight itself, the LR matters for a different reason: a road transporter is a goods transport agency only if it issues a consignment note, by whatever name called. Our GST on GTA services guide covers the rates and reverse charge that follow from that definition.

A truck detained because the LR number was keyed wrongly

Mismatches between the paper LR and the e-way bill are a common cause of roadside detention, and most come from manual keying. The trace below follows one illustrative consignment from Bhiwandi to Indore.

1. Monday 10:05, booking: the transporter's Bhiwandi branch issues LR 2611/BWD/0457 against forwarding note BWD-GFN-8812 for 46 cartons, freight ₹21,400 to pay, booked under section 10.
2. Monday 10:40, e-way bill: the consignor's clerk generates the e-way bill and types the transport document number as 2611/BWD/0475; vehicle MH04XX1234 is added. No system compares the e-way bill with the LR book.
3. Monday 16:20, interception: a mobile squad checks the vehicle; the paper LR and the e-way bill show different document numbers, so the officer detains the truck for verification and records the summary report in Part A of FORM GST EWB-03 under rule 138C.
4. Monday 18:50, detention upload: the transporter files FORM GST EWB-04 under rule 138D, available once a vehicle is held for more than thirty minutes, and the consignor sends the invoice and forwarding note to the officer.
5. Tuesday 18:30, release: after verification the truck is released 26 hours late, the Indore appointment is lost and a second unloading slot is booked; the consignor adds an exact-match check of transDocNo against the LR register.

Whether a keying error attracts a penalty depends on the facts and on CGST section 129, covered in our e-way bill penalty guide. Section 12(3) of the 2007 Act does not shift the detention cost here, because it applies only where prohibited or tax-unpaid goods are found undescribed in the forwarding note.

Section 10 or section 11: the liability booking printed on every LR

Every LR must say whether the consignment is booked under section 10, the limited-liability default, or section 11, where the consignor pays the carrier's higher risk rate. Leaving the box blank does not avoid the choice; it simply leaves the claims team arguing about it later.

Under section 10(1), liability for loss or damage is limited to an amount prescribed by rules unless the consignor has undertaken to pay the higher risk rate. Section 10(2) limits liability for delay, within the period agreed in the forwarding note, to the freight. Section 11 requires the carrier to display its higher rate in English and the State's language before it can charge it.

• Section 10 bookings: print the likely delivery date and the agreed delay period, because both feed the delay limit in section 10(2).
• Section 11 bookings: print the additional charge collected as item 13, and keep the agreed liability terms with the forwarding note.
• Dangerous goods: rule 10(5) requires the receipt's upper left corner printed in red, and section 13(3) requires the carrier to confirm insurance cover before transport starts.

How much the carrier pays under each booking, including the ten-times-freight cap in rule 12(1), is worked through in our carrier liability limits guide. This article stays with the LR's wording, because that wording decides which calculation applies.

Unclaimed goods at the destination godown, in rupees and in dollars

When a consignee does not take delivery, section 15 gives the carrier a statutory path to sell the goods and recover its charges. The LR's freight figure, destination and consignee details become the basis for the notices, so an incomplete LR slows the whole process.

Section 15(1) deems a consignment unclaimed if the consignee does not take delivery within thirty days of the carrier's notice, or twenty-four hours for perishables. For non-perishable goods, section 15(2)(b) requires a further notice to remove them within fifteen days, after which the carrier may sell. Section 15(3) lets it keep freight, storage, other charges and sale expenses, returning any surplus.

Section 15(4) adds a lien: unless otherwise agreed, the carrier may detain or dispose of the consignment, in part or full, if the consignee does not pay freight and charges at delivery. That is why a to-pay LR must state the freight clearly; a vague "as per rate" entry gives the carrier nothing certain to recover and the consignee a reason to refuse.

The US counterpart: carrier receipts under 49 CFR 373.101

The United States has no "lorry receipt", but it has the same duty in a different shape. Under 49 U.S.C. 14706(a)(1), a carrier must issue a receipt or bill of lading for property it receives, and failure to issue one does not affect its liability. For for-hire, non-exempt motor carriers, 49 CFR 373.101 lists what the receipt must contain.

• Parties: names of consignor and consignee.
• Route ends: origin and destination points.
• Count: number of packages.
• Goods: description of freight.
• Measure: weight, volume or measurement, where it matters for rating the freight.

The US list is shorter than Form 8 because value, liability basis and delivery terms sit in the carrier's tariff and the released-rate rules rather than on the receipt. Retention also differs: Appendix A to 49 CFR Part 379 sets one year for copies of bills of lading, while CGST section 36 makes a GST-registered person keep its records for 72 months from the due date of the annual return.

Carrier receipts compared: India's Form 8 goods receipt under rule 10(4) of the Carriage by Road Rules, 2011 lists 14 particulars including value, liability booking and delivery dates, while 49 CFR 373.101 requires only five for US for-hire motor carriers, and Appendix A to Part 379 keeps bill of lading copies for 1 year.

LR checks a TMS should enforce, and a template review checklist

Matching numbers, checking that particulars are present and blocking dispatch on a mismatch are exact comparisons, so the TMS should do them every time. Reading handwritten bilties and judging whether a goods description fits the invoice are judgement tasks where software can only help. The LR and ePOD document processing guide covers extraction from scanned LRs; the table below sets where its output stops and a rule takes over.

If you need an LR template, TMS validation rules or an e-way bill reconciliation built for your transport network, you can tell us about the project through our RFP page. More shipping document guides are in the Logistics and Supply Chain library.