Delivery Challan Format Under GST Rule 55
Last updated: 1 September 2026
A delivery challan is the document that travels with goods when you can't (or don't need to) issue a tax invoice at the moment the goods leave your premises. It's one of the most commonly needed — and commonly got wrong — documents for small manufacturers, traders, and job workers. Here's what it actually needs to contain, and when you need one.
When You Need a Delivery Challan
- Job work — sending raw material or semi-finished goods to a job worker, and receiving them back.
- Supply on approval — goods sent for the recipient to inspect/approve before a sale is finalised.
- Line sale / stock movement — goods moved between your own branches or godowns, not yet sold.
- Other than by way of supply — goods sent for exhibitions, fairs, demos, or own use, where no sale is happening at all.
- When quantity is unknown at removal — e.g. liquid goods where the exact billable quantity is only known on delivery.
What Rule 55 Requires on the Challan
At minimum, a compliant delivery challan needs:
- Date and a serially-numbered challan number
- Consignor's (sender's) name, address, and GSTIN
- Consignee's (recipient's) name, address, and GSTIN (if registered)
- HSN code and description of goods
- Quantity (and taxable value / tax rate / tax amount, where the movement is a supply — see note below)
- Place of supply, for inter-state movement
- Signature
Delivery Challan vs Tax Invoice
| Delivery Challan | Tax Invoice | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Accompanies goods in transit | Demands payment for a completed sale |
| GST charged | No | Yes, on taxable supplies |
| Used for | Job work, approval, branch transfer, exhibitions | Actual sale of goods/services |
| Copies | 3 — Original/Duplicate/Triplicate | Typically 2 — Original/Duplicate |
How Many Copies, and Who Gets Which
The standard Indian business convention is three copies:
- Original for Recipient (consignee) — kept with the goods on delivery.
- Duplicate for Transporter — carried during transit as proof of movement.
- Triplicate for Consignor — retained by the sender for their own records.
Delivery Challan vs E-Way Bill
These are not the same thing, and one doesn't replace the other. The delivery challan is your own dispatch document. The e-way bill is a separate document generated on the government's e-way bill portal, required for movement of goods above a value threshold, regardless of whether the movement is a sale or not. For a shipment above that threshold, you typically need both.
BillSimple generates a Rule 55-format delivery challan automatically — three copies, transport details, and a receiver's signature block, in Pro plans.
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