How to Track a Bilty / LR Number: Steps, Lost Bilty, POD

Bilty (also spelled bilti, and written बिल्टी in Hindi) is the everyday word for the consignment note a transporter gives when it takes your goods for road transport. The same document is called an LR (Lorry Receipt) or a GR (Goods Receipt) in different regions and trades. The bilty number, LR number and GR number are therefore the same thing: the serial number of that document. The serial number is not optional. For a goods transport agency (GTA), rule 54(3) of the CGST Rules lists a serial number as one of the details a consignment note must carry, along with the date, the names of the consignor and consignee, the registration number of the truck, the places of origin and destination, and a description of the goods. Because each transporter numbers its own bilties, a number such as 10452 means something only to the transporter that issued it. Another transporter may have issued a bilty with the same number. That is why a tracking request needs more than the number: it also needs to reach the right transporter, with the date and truck number to confirm which bilty you mean. Our guide on what a bilty is explains the whole document and its copies.

In most bilty formats the number sits in a box near the top of the sheet, often at the top right, next to the date, and it is printed or stamped on every copy. A bilty usually has four copies (consignor, consignee, driver and office), and all four carry the same number. If you have the consignor copy you already have the number; if you are the receiver and only the driver has the paper, ask him to read it out or photograph it for you. Formats differ between transporters, so look for a field labelled "LR No.", "GR No.", "Bilty No." or "Consignment Note No." If a bilty is handwritten, check that the number on your copy matches the number on the office copy: a mismatch is the most common reason a tracking request cannot be found.

1. Find the transporter that issued the bilty. Its name and phone number are printed at the top of the bilty. Only that transporter holds the record for that number. 2. Contact its booking office or the branch where the goods were handed over, by phone or message, and give the details in the table below. 3. Ask for four things: the current location or last known stop, the truck number and driver's phone number, the expected arrival date, and whether the goods have been unloaded. 4. If the transporter has its own online tracking page, use it. Open the transporter's website by typing its own address, or use the link printed on its bilty or invoice, rather than a link forwarded in a message, because fake tracking links are a known way to cheat people. 5. If the truck is on the road, calling the driver is often the fastest way to confirm progress. Ask him to share a photo of the sealed load or the weighbridge slip if you need proof. 6. When the goods arrive, check the packages against the bilty before signing, and write any shortage or damage on the bilty copy. We do not list individual carriers' tracking addresses here, because they change and we cannot vouch for a page we have not checked. Ask the transporter for the official address.

Do not panic: the transporter keeps an office copy, so the record is not lost. The steps below are common trade practice, not a legal procedure, and each transporter sets its own rules. 1. Tell the transporter at once, in writing if possible, and give whatever you remember: date, truck number, consignor, consignee, from and to. 2. Ask for a photocopy or duplicate of the office copy, or a fresh copy marked "duplicate". 3. Expect to be asked for proof of who you are, a written authority letter if someone else is collecting, and sometimes an undertaking that you will return the original if it turns up. This protects the transporter from delivering the same goods twice. 4. Keep the other documents together: the supplier's invoice, the e-way bill, and proof of any freight paid. They show that the goods and the journey are genuine. If the lost copy is the only one that shows a "To Pay" freight, settle the amount with the transporter before collecting, so there is no dispute at the unloading point.

POD means proof of delivery: the consignee copy of the bilty, signed and stamped by the receiver on unloading, or a separate delivery receipt. It is the document that closes the job. For the transporter, the POD is what lets it claim the balance freight and bill the party with confidence. For the party who sent the goods, it shows that the goods arrived and who accepted them. For both, it is the evidence if a shortage, damage or delay is disputed later: if the receiver signed "received in good condition", that is hard to argue against, and if he wrote the shortage on the copy, that is just as clear. Good habits: write remarks on the copy before signing, photograph the signed POD on the spot, and file it with the bilty number so that it can be found months later. Scanning every signed POD takes a minute and saves weeks of arguing at billing time.

Most "where is my goods?" calls are avoidable. Print a unique serial number on every bilty, keep the number the same on all four copies, and record the truck number and driver's phone against the number on the day you book the load. Then a party who calls with a bilty number gets an answer in a minute instead of a search through registers. A simple routine helps: send the party the bilty number and truck number by message when the truck leaves, send the expected arrival date, and ask for the signed POD back within a day of delivery. You can create a numbered four-copy bilty with our free bilty maker and keep each load, its LR number and the truck against it in Bilty.