Transport bill format

Last reviewed: October 2026

What a transport bill is

A transport bill (also called a freight bill or GTA invoice) is what a transporter sends the customer who pays the freight. It is separate from the consignment note, which the transporter issues when it takes the goods: the consignment note travels with the truck and records the load; the bill asks for payment, usually for one or several consignment notes.

Under GST, a goods transport agency is anyone who provides a service in relation to transport of goods by road and issues a consignment note, by whatever name it is called. The consignment note is the test. A truck owner who carries goods without issuing one is not a GTA: transport of goods by road other than by a GTA or a courier is exempt, and hiring out a truck with driver and fuel is a separate service, "renting of goods carriage", taxed at 5% or 18%.

How to fill in this transport bill format

1. Enter the GTAAdd the transport company's name, address and GSTIN, and its PAN in the notes so the customer can apply TDS correctly.
2. Add the customer paying the freightEnter the consignor or consignee who pays, with its GSTIN. Its state sets the place of supply and whether the tax is IGST or CGST + SGST.
3. Bill each loadAdd a line per consignment note: LR number and date, route and vehicle in the description, tonnes or trips as the quantity and the rate. Add loading, unloading and detention on their own lines.
4. Set the taxUnder reverse charge use 0% and write "GST payable by recipient under reverse charge at 5%" in the notes. If you have opted for forward charge, use 5% or 18% as declared.
5. Issue itCheck the totals, then sign in to issue: the bill gets the next number in your series and is recorded in your books, ready for GSTR-1. Downloading the PDF is free, with a small LuckPanda footer; issuing, sending and clean PDFs without our branding need the Sales module.

Example: a freight bill under reverse charge

Punjab Golden Roadways, a Ludhiana GTA, carries 9 tonnes of cotton yarn to Noyyal Spinning Mills in Tiruppur on LR 4471 at ₹6,200 a tonne, with loading and one day of detention at the mill. The mill is a registered company that pays the freight, and the GTA has not opted for forward charge, so the GST is the mill's to pay under reverse charge. The bill shows no tax, only the statement.

1. Bill number: continuous series, at most 16 characters.
2. Consignment note number and date for each load billed; it is what makes the transporter a GTA.
3. Vehicle number, as on the consignment note and the e-way bill.
4. Place of supply: the registered recipient's state, so the tax is IGST here (Punjab to Tamil Nadu).
5. Whoever pays the freight is the recipient: consignor on a "paid" LR, consignee on a "to pay" LR.
6. Freight, loading and detention: charges incidental to the transport follow the freight's tax treatment.
7. Reverse-charge statement: rule 46 requires the invoice to say tax is payable on reverse charge.
8. No GST charged: under reverse charge the recipient pays it directly to the government.

What goes on a transport bill and a consignment note

The consignment note

For GST, a consignment note is a document a GTA issues against receipt of goods for transport in a goods carriage. It must be serially numbered and contain the names of the consignor and consignee, the registration number of the goods carriage, details of the goods, the places of origin and destination, and the GSTIN of the person liable to pay tax: consignor, consignee or the GTA. Local names for it are LR (lorry receipt), GR (goods receipt) and bilty. The usual freight terms printed on it decide who the recipient is: paid (consignor pays), to pay (consignee pays on delivery) or to be billed (one party is billed later, typically monthly).

GST on GTA services: reverse charge or forward charge

Notification 15/2025-Central Tax (Rate) changed the GTA forward-charge option with credit from 12% to 18% from 22 September 2025. The other options are unchanged.

Who pays under reverse charge

Reverse charge applies when the GTA has not opted for forward charge and the person paying the freight is: a factory registered under the Factories Act; a society; a co-operative society; any GST-registered person; a body corporate (company or LLP); a partnership firm or association of persons; or a casual taxable person. That recipient pays 5% in cash in its own return and takes credit for it. GTA services to anyone else, typically an unregistered individual moving household goods, are exempt.

Opting for forward charge: Annexure V

A GTA that wants to charge GST itself files a declaration in Annexure V on the GST portal between 1 January and 31 March of the preceding financial year (for FY 2027-28, by 31 March 2027). A new GTA files it within 45 days of applying for registration or one month of getting it, whichever is later. Since July 2023 the option carries forward year after year; to go back to reverse charge, the GTA files Annexure VI in the same January to March window. The option covers all the GTA's supplies: it cannot charge 18% to one customer and leave another on reverse charge.

IGST or CGST and SGST

For a registered recipient the place of supply is the recipient's location (section 12(8) of the IGST Act), not the route. A Punjab GTA billing a Tamil Nadu mill uses IGST even if the truck never leaves Punjab; billing a Punjab customer for a Ludhiana-to-Chennai trip it uses CGST and SGST. For an unregistered recipient, it is where the goods are handed over for transport.

Exemptions by goods

GTA transport of certain goods is exempt whoever pays: agricultural produce; milk, salt and food grains including flour, pulses and rice; organic manure; registered newspapers and magazines; relief materials for disaster victims; and defence or military equipment. The older exemptions for loads with freight up to ₹1,500 per carriage or ₹750 per consignee were withdrawn from 18 July 2022.

Freight, detention, loading and other charges

• Freight is billed per tonne, per trip (full truck load), per kilometre or per package, as agreed. Part loads are often billed on the higher of actual and minimum chargeable weight.
• Loading and unloading done by the GTA as part of the transport are part of one composite supply of transport, so they follow the freight: no GST under reverse charge, or the GTA's forward-charge rate.
• Detention or demurrage for waiting at the loading or delivery point beyond the free time is charged per day or per hour and treated the same way as the freight.
• Tolls, permits and weighbridge fees are usually built into the freight. Shown separately at actual cost, they can stay outside the taxable value only if the GTA meets the pure-agent conditions of rule 33.
• Insurance arranged by the GTA, and advances paid to the driver, are recorded on the bill or the LR so the customer can reconcile them.

E-way bills and the transport bill

Goods worth more than ₹50,000 per consignment (taxable value plus GST) need an e-way bill to move between states. For movement within a state, each state sets its own limit: several, such as Delhi and Maharashtra, use ₹1 lakh, and West Bengal moved from ₹1 lakh to ₹50,000 from 1 June 2026. Check the origin state's current limit.

• The consignor or consignee generates Part A (goods, value, parties); the transporter fills Part B (vehicle number). If neither party generates it, the GTA can generate it on the consignor's authority.
• Validity runs from Part B: one day for each 200 km for ordinary cargo (20 km for over-dimensional cargo).
• If the goods change trucks, update Part B with the new vehicle before the goods move.
• Quote the e-way bill number on the consignment note. The freight bill itself does not need one, but auditors expect the LR, the e-way bill and the bill to agree on vehicle and weight.

TDS on payments to transporters

A business paying freight to a transporter deducts income tax at source under the rules for payments to contractors, now in section 393 of the Income-tax Act 2025 (formerly section 194C), from 1 April 2026:

• 1% if the transporter is an individual or HUF, 2% for a firm or company, on the freight excluding GST shown separately.
• No deduction if a single payment is up to ₹30,000 and the payments in the year total up to ₹1,00,000.
• No deduction for small fleet owners: if the transporter is in the business of plying, hiring or leasing goods carriages, owns ten or fewer goods carriages at any time in the year and gives the payer a declaration with its PAN, the payer does not deduct, but still reports the payment in its TDS return.
• Without a PAN, tax is deducted at the higher rate of 20%.

Put the GTA's PAN on the bill (it is also the middle of the GSTIN) and, if it qualifies, keep the declaration on file with the customer.

Mistakes to avoid on a transport bill

• Charging 12%. The 12% forward-charge option became 18% on 22 September 2025.
• Charging GST under reverse charge. If the GTA has not filed Annexure V, its bill to a specified recipient shows no GST, only the statement.
• Mixing options between customers. The forward-charge option, once exercised, applies to all the GTA's supplies for the year.
• No consignment note. Without one, the service is not GTA service, and reverse charge and the GTA rates do not apply.
• IGST or CGST by route. For a registered recipient the place of supply is the recipient's location, not where the truck went.
• Taxing loading or detention separately at 18%. Incidental charges follow the freight.
• Missing PAN or the TDS declaration. The customer will deduct TDS it need not have deducted.

Transport bill vs consignment note vs e-way bill vs trucking invoice

For US trucking companies billing in dollars, see the trucking invoice template.

Key terms

Goods transport agency (GTA)

A person who provides road transport of goods and issues a consignment note.

Consignment note (LR, GR, bilty)

The serially numbered receipt a GTA issues for goods taken for transport, naming the person liable to pay GST.

Reverse charge

The rule under which the recipient, not the supplier, pays the GST on a supply.

Annexure V

The declaration by which a GTA opts to pay GST itself under forward charge.

Detention

A charge for a vehicle kept waiting at the loading or delivery point beyond the agreed free time.

SAC 996791

Services accounting code for goods transport agency services for road transport.

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