LR, GR and lorry receipt explained for road freight

Every consignment that moves by road in India travels with one piece of paper that everyone refers to and few people read closely: the lorry receipt. It is short, and it decides a great deal. It proves the transporter took your goods, it records the terms they were taken on, and it is the reference every later question comes back to, from tracking to a damage claim.

One document, many names

The lorry receipt goes by several names across India. LR (lorry receipt) is common in the west and south. GR (goods receipt) is common in the north, and it is the term the Carriage by Road Act, 2007 uses. You will also hear consignment note, bilty and docket. They are the same document. At Safe & Secure it is printed as a GR, and the GR number is what you type on the track page.

What the LR proves

The lorry receipt does three jobs at once.

1. A receipt. It records that the transporter received a stated number of packages, of a stated description and weight, in apparent good order.
2. The contract of carriage. It records where the goods go, to whom, on what freight basis and at whose risk.
3. The reference. Tracking, the proof of delivery, the freight bill, the GST treatment and any claim all point back to the LR number.

Under the Carriage by Road Act and its 2011 Rules, the consignor gives the common carrier a goods forwarding note describing the goods, and the carrier issues a goods receipt against it. The Act also sets out the carrier’s liability for loss or damage and the notice period for a claim, so the LR is the starting point of any claim.

What a good LR shows

Check these before the truck leaves your gate. A mistake here is hard to correct later.

• Consignor and consignee, with full addresses and GSTINs where they apply
• Origin and destination branch or place of delivery
• Number of packages, the marks on them and a plain description of the goods
• Declared weight and, for part-loads, the charged weight
• Invoice number and invoice value, which link the LR to the e-way bill
• Freight basis: paid (the consignor pays), to pay (the consignee pays at delivery) or billed to an account
• Risk: owner’s risk or carrier’s risk, and whether the goods are insured and by whom
• The date, the booking branch and the LR number

If the transporter counts fewer packages than your invoice, get the LR written with the true count. Signing an LR that says 50 when you loaded 48, or the other way round, is how most shortage disputes begin.

How the LR links to GST and the e-way bill

Under GST, a transporter that issues a consignment note is a goods transport agency (GTA), and that status decides who pays GST on the freight: in many cases the business receiving the service pays it under reverse charge, unless the GTA has chosen to charge it on its invoice. Your accounts team will want the LR number and the freight bill together.

The e-way bill is a separate document generated on the GST portal for goods worth more than ₹50,000. The LR number can be entered as the transport document number on it, along with the vehicle number, which ties the tax record to the consignment moving on the road. Our e-way bill helper tells you whether one is needed and how long it is valid for your distance.

At delivery: the proof of delivery

The consignee signs and stamps the delivery copy of the LR, or the transporter records the delivery electronically. That signed copy is the proof of delivery (POD). Two habits save a lot of trouble:

• If packages are short, wet or damaged, the consignee writes it on the delivery copy before signing. “Received in good condition” written by default makes a later claim very hard.
• Keep the POD with the invoice. Many buyers pay only against it.

Where the LR fits with other documents

For goods going abroad, the LR covers only the road leg. The sea or air leg has its own transport document, and customs needs its own declaration: see the export and import document checklist.