The transportation sector is the backbone of the economy as it connects businesses, clients, and industries. More individuals and fleet owners are establishing transport businesses with the sector booming. But, to run a successful transportation business in India, it’s not enough to own a fleet of lorries or trucks. It’s more complex than it looks.
There are many legal processes involved to ensure that your transport runs smoothly on the road. To make you aware, we will discuss lorry receipts, one of the most essential documents for hassle-free transportation.
Whether you are new or have already invested some years in the transportation industry, but still need some guidance, let’s find out everything you need to know about lorry receipts.
What Are Lorry Receipts?
In the simplest terms, a lorry receipt or LR is the receipt that acknowledges the carrier, particularly a lorry or truck receiving goods for movement from the source to the delivery location. Whether businesses go for truck booking online or offline, this receipt is issued by all transporters.
This receipt is important for both consignors and consignees and both should keep a copy during the transportation of goods. It contains important details, including, the name and address of the courier, the identity of the consignor, the date of booking, the name of the consignee, the place of origin and destination, the description of goods, the quantity of parcels, their total weight and freight costs.
Situations may arise on the road when the truck driver has to show the lorry receipt to the authority for clearance. For instance, particularly during security checking, passing through toll booths, or interstate crossings, the driver needs to produce the lorry receipt.
Components Of Lorry Receipts
A lorry receipt typically consists of the following details:
- Everything about the transporter: To identify the transporter, all details about the company; logo, name, address, GST, PAN number, phone number, HSN number, and the date when the lorry receipt is issued are mentioned.
- Goods details: Every receipt has a unique number assigned which will help to track the transport. Apart from this, descriptions of goods, nature, quantity, and dimensions are also mentioned.
- Transport details: The type of transport, its number, and other necessary details regarding the vehicles are mentioned.
- Delivery details: The exact address of delivery of goods, name of the client, and contact details are added to the receipt.
Apart from these details, there will be signs from all required authorities.
Why Lorry Receipts Are Important?
The transport service provider or the carrier usually issues the lorry receipt. Besides being the paper for acknowledgement for both parties, it also has other purposes.
- Proof of Delivery: Carrying the lorry receipt ensures that the client cannot falsely claim or accuse the carrier of damaging or misplacing goods. It helps to resolve such issues and prove that goods were delivered in good condition. On the other hand, in case you want to claim insurance or goods are misplaced or damaged, the lorry receipt will be needed.
- Legal Reasons: The receipt is not just a piece of paper but a legal document that can be shown to the authority as proof of delivery. In many places, you won’t be allowed to move through states without a valid LR. It is signed by the transporter before the truck hits the road.
- Record-keeping: The transporter can keep a record of the goods transported, vehicles used, routes taken, clients they served, and more information with the lorry receipts. The business can also keep a tab on the transport service providers they have worked with or the volume of goods they moved.
- For Billing: The receipt comes in handy when settling payments, dues, or insurance. To carry on smooth transactions, ensure you do not lose the receipt.
How Are Lorry Receipts Issued When Booking Trucks Online?
If you rely on truck booking online, then your carrier won’t give you a physical document. Rather, a digital document will be issued electronically. It will comprise the same components that offline transport service providers issue. For your convenience, you can make a photocopy of the document or keep it in your device.
There are many Transport Management Software (TMS) that generate the document. Particularly, businesses that rely on AI-advanced tools for digital logistics solutions need not even stress on issuing one manually. As soon as a booking is confirmed, the receipt will be generated by the system.
Beware Of Fake Lorry Receipts
A lorry receipt is essential when goods are transported by road. Whether you are issuing them or receiving the receipts, ensure they contain all necessary information. Keep them along with other documents for future records.
It should also be mentioned here that agents or transporters often issue fake lorry receipts. They can do so to fraud the consignor. In most such cases, goods are either misplaced or delivered to the wrong locations. It is common when delivering valuable goods. So, ensure you verify the receipt after receiving and to avoid falling for such scams, always hire reputed transporters.
For booking trucks online, you can check Vahak, India’s largest online marketplace. Find reputed transporters and agents to deliver goods across India with just a few clicks. All the transporters registered on the platform are verified, so your goods will be in safe hands.
