This Indian law is for regulation of common carriers, limiting their liability and declaration of value of goods delivered to them to determine their liability for loss of, or damage to, such goods occasioned by the negligence or criminal acts of themselves, their servants or agents.
Carriage by Road Act, 2007
[Act 41 of 2007] [29th September, 2007]
An Act to provide for the regulation of common carriers, limiting their liability and declaration of value of goods delivered to them to determine their liability for loss of, or damage to, such goods occasioned by the negligence or criminal acts of themselves, their servants or agents and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Fifty-eighth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
1. Short title, extent and commencement.
1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Carriage by Road Act, 2007.
(2) It extends to the whole of India, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
[Editor’s Note: This Act came into force w.e.f. March 1, 2011.]
| Other Contents of Carriage by Road Act, 2007 |
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| Sections 1 to 7 |
| Sections 8 to 22 |
2. Definitions.
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “common carrier” means a person engaged in the business of collecting, storing, forwarding or distributing goods to be carried by goods carriages under a goods receipt or transporting for hire of goods from place to place by motorised transport on road, for all persons undiscriminatingly and includes a goods booking company, contractor, agent, broker and courier agency engaged in the door-to-door transportation of documents, goods or articles utilising the services of a person, either directly or indirectly, to carry or accompany such documents, goods or articles, but does not include the Government;
(b) “consignee” means the person named as consignee in the goods forwarding note;
(c) “consignment” means documents, goods or articles entrusted by the consignor to the common carrier for carriage, the description or details of which are given in the goods forwarding note;
(d) “consignor” means a person, named as consignor in the goods forwarding note, by whom or on whose behalf the documents, goods or articles covered by such forwarding note are entrusted to the common carrier for carriage thereof;
(e) “goods” includes—
(i) containers, pallets or similar articles of transport used to consolidate goods; and
(ii) animals or livestock;
(f) “goods forwarding note” means the document executed under Section 8;
(g) “goods receipt” means the receipt issued under Section 9;
(h) “person” includes any association or body of persons, whether incorporated or not, a road transport booking company, contractor and an agent or a broker carrying on the business of a common carrier;
(i) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(j) “registering authority” means a State Transport Authority or a Regional Transport Authority constituted under Section 68 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988);
(k) “registration” means the registration granted or renewed under sub-section (5) of Section 4.
3. Persons not to engage in business of common carrier without registration.
3. Persons not to engage in business of common carrier without registration.—(1) No person shall engage in the business of a common carrier, after the commencement of this Act, unless he has been granted a certificate of registration.
(2) Any person who is engaged, whether wholly or partly, in the business of a common carrier, immediately before the commencement of this Act, shall,—
(a) apply for a registration within ninety days from the date of such commencement;
(b) cease to engage in such business on the expiry of one hundred and eighty days from the date of such commencement unless he has applied for registration and the certificate of registration has been granted by the registering authority.
4. Application for grant or renewal of registration.
4. Application for grant or renewal of registration.—(1) Any person, who is engaged or intends to engage in the business of a common carrier, shall apply for the grant or renewal of a certificate of registration for carrying on the business of common carrier to the registering authority.
(2) An application under sub-section (1) shall be made, to the registering authority having jurisdiction in the area in which the applicant resides or has his principal place of business stating that the application is for the main office, in such form and manner and accompanied by such fees payable to the registering authority as may be prescribed.
(3) An application for grant or renewal of certificate of registration for the main office shall contain the details of branch office, if any, to be operated outside the jurisdiction of the State or Union territory in which the main office is to be registered in such form and manner as may be prescribed:
Provided that an application for the purpose to open or close a branch office shall be made to the registering authority having jurisdiction over the main office.
(4) A registering authority shall, before granting or renewing a certificate of registration, satisfy itself that the applicant fulfils such conditions as may be prescribed.
(5) The registering authority may, on receipt of an application under sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) and after satisfying itself that the applicant fulfils the requirements of sub-section (4), grant the certificate of registration or renew it, as the case may be, for carrying on the business of a common carrier, in such form and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed:
Provided that no application for the grant or renewal of a certificate of registration shall be refused by the registering authority unless the applicant has been given an opportunity of being heard and the reasons for such refusal are given in writing by the registering authority within sixty days from the date of receipt of such application:
Provided further that if such refusal has not been communicated within sixty days of the date of application, the registering authority shall grant or renew certificate of registration within a further period of thirty days.
(6) A certificate of registration granted or renewed under sub-section (5) shall contain the details of branch offices to be operated in various States and Union territories, and shall be valid for a period of ten years from the date of such grant or renewal, as the case may be:
Provided that in the case of registration in respect of branch offices referred to in sub-section (3), the validity of such registration shall be restricted to the validity of the registration granted in respect of the main office.
(7) The holder of a certificate of registration shall—
(a) maintain a register in such form and manner as may be prescribed;
(b) for shifting the main office mentioned in the certificate of registration submit an application to the registering authority which granted the certificate of registration:
Provided that such registering authority shall grant or refuse permission for shifting the main office within thirty days from the date of receipt of such application and that no application for shifting the main office shall be refused unless the applicant has been given an opportunity of being heard and reasons for such refusal are given in writing by the registering authority:
Provided further that in case the registering authority has not either granted or refused the permission within thirty days it shall be deemed that the permission for shifting has been granted.
(c) submit to the registering authority under whose jurisdiction the main office is located and the Transport Research Wing of the Ministry or Department of the Central Government dealing with road transport and highways such information and return as may be prescribed within one hundred and twenty days after the thirty-first day of March every year;
(d) display at a prominent place in its or its main office and each branch office, if any, a certificate of registration in original or certified copy thereof attested by the concerned registering authority, a notary or a Gazetted Officer of the Central or State Government.
(8) A common carrier shall not load the motor vehicle beyond the gross vehicle weight mentioned in the registration certificate whose registration number is mentioned in the goods forwarding note or goods receipt, and the common carrier shall not allow such vehicle to be loaded beyond the gross vehicle weight.
5. Suspension or cancellation of registration.
5. Suspension or cancellation of registration.—(1) If the registering authority is satisfied that the holder of certificate of registration has failed to comply with any of the provisions of sub-section (7) of Section 4, it may give a notice by registered post or through electronic media or by any verifiable means to the holder of certificate of registration to rectify within a period of thirty days and in case such a holder fails to do so, it may revoke the certificate of registration on completion of enquiry.
(2) If a complaint is received by the registering authority against a common carrier from a consignor in respect of,—
(i) non-issuance of receipt of goods;
(ii) non-disclosure of the whereabouts of the goods in transit when asked by the consignor or consignee; or
(iii) detention of goods for delivery without valid reasons; or
(iv) demand for unreasonable additional charges at the time of delivery, which were neither disclosed nor agreed upon between the consignor and the consignee earlier; or
(v) non-payment of charges agreed and payable to truck-owners,
it may give a notice by registered post or through electronic media or by any other verifiable means to the holder of certificate of registration to rectify the same within a period of thirty days and in case such holder fails to do so, it may revoke certificate of registration for a period as may be prescribed under the rules on completion of that enquiry.
(3) If the registering authority or any other authority so authorised under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988) has received proof of violation of provision of sub-section (8) of Section 4, it shall be competent to impose the penalty prescribed under Section 194 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 on the common carrier, notwithstanding the fact that such penalty have been already imposed on and realised from the driver or the owner of the goods vehicle or the consignor, as the case may be.
(4) Any action for revocation of certificate of registration shall not be taken under sub-sections (1) and (2) unless the holder of the certificate of registration is given an opportunity of being heard in the enquiry and reasons for such action are given in writing by the registering authority.
(5) The registering authority in whose jurisdiction the main office of the common carrier is located shall be competent to take action under sub-sections (1) and (2) and any other registering authority who has noticed the violations or has received complaints under the said sub-sections, shall report such matter to the registering authority having jurisdiction over the main office.
(6) When the certificate of registration is revoked, the holder of the certificate of registration shall surrender the certificate of registration to the registering authority within a period of thirty days and it would be incumbent on the holder of the certificate of registration to complete the delivery and transactions in respect of the consignments already accepted by the common carrier from any consignor prior to the revocation of the certificate of registration.
(7) The holder of a certificate of registration may, at any time, surrender the certificate to the registering authority which granted the registration and on such surrender the registering authority shall, after obtaining declaration from the holder of the certificate of registration that no liability is outstanding against him and that he shall discharge such liability, if held liable, revoke the certificate of registration:
Provided that if the surrender is in respect of a branch office, the endorsement in respect of the branch office shall be deleted from the certificate of registration and such deletion shall be notified by the registering authority having jurisdiction over the main office to such other authorities as may be prescribed.
6. Appeal.
6. Appeal.—(1) Any person aggrieved by an order of the registering authority refusing to grant or renew a certificate of registration or suspending or revoking a registration under this Act, may, within sixty days from the date of such order, appeal to the State Transport Appellate Tribunal constituted under sub-section (2) of Section 89 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988).
(2) An appeal under sub-section (1) shall be preferred in duplicate in the form of a memorandum setting forth the grounds of objection to the order of the registering authority and shall be accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed.
(3) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2), the provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2) of Section 89 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988), as in force immediately before the commencement of this Act, with regard to appeal, shall, as far as may, apply to every appeal as if the provisions aforesaid were enacted by this Act subject to the modification that any reference therein to the “permit” shall be construed as a reference to the “registration”.
7. Submission of annual return.
7. Submission of annual return.—The State Transport Authority in respect of each State or Union territory shall submit annually to the Ministry or Department of the Central Government dealing with road transport and highways a consolidated annual return giving the details of the goods carried by the common carriers in that State or the Union territory, as the case may be, on the basis of the returns received from the holders of the registration as specified under clause (c) of sub-section (7) of Section 4.
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