Section2
The Carriage by Road Act, 2007

Definitions

In force From 20 Jul 2010 Act 41 of 2007 As on 14 Oct 2026

Act 41 of 2007 Ministry Road Transport and Highways Enacted 29 Sep 2007 In force 20 Jul 2010

Section 2 of the Carriage by Road Act, 2007 deals with 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 transpo The Act came into force on 20 Jul 2010.

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.

Section 2, The Carriage by Road Act, 2007 (Act 41 of 2007).

Cross-references

Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.

Related judgements & precedents

These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.

  1. Amrit Transport Company v. Oriental Insurance Company Ltd.

    High Court 16 Dec 2024 Persuasive (High Court) S.B. Civil Revision Petition No.330/2024; Order 16.12.2024 (Ashok Kumar Jain J.)

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    In insurer's recovery suit against goods transporter for looted consignment loss, Rajasthan HC held Carriage by Road Act regulates common-carrier liability and that a claim voucher/bill cannot substitute the mandatory pre-suit written notice under s.16 (Essemm Logistics followed for loss-of-consignment claims). Suit rejected under O7R11 for want of s.16 notice; plaintiff may sue afresh after notice.

    On this section: s.2 Definitions — common-carrier status of the transport company is the definitional gateway for Act liability/notice regime applied to the suit

    Read the full order on eCourts India

The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.

Questions about Section 2

What have the courts held on Section 2 of the Carriage by Road Act?

Amrit Transport Company v. Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. (16 Dec 2024) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.2 Definitions — common-carrier status of the transport company is the definitional gateway for Act liability/notice regime applied to the suit.

How do I find court cases under Section 2 of the Carriage by Road Act?

In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Carriage by Road Act 2, section 2 Carriage by Road Act, section 2 of the Carriage by Road Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Amrit Transport Company v. Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. (16 Dec 2024).

What should I read with Section 2 of the Carriage by Road Act, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 4 (Application for grant or renewal of registration), section 8 (Goods forwarding note), section 9 (Goods receipt), so none of them can safely be read on its own.

When did Section 2 of the Carriage by Road Act come into force?

Section 2 of the Carriage by Road Act, cited as Carriage by Road Act 2, came into force on 20 Jul 2010, having been enacted on 29 Sep 2007. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.

Other sections of this Act

Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.