Logistics Services Agreement in India: Template and Key Clauses (2026)

A logistics services agreement in India is a contract between a customer and a logistics provider for transport, warehousing, freight forwarding and related services. Because goods move into the provider's custody, the law of bailment is central, alongside carriage statutes and GST. This guide sets out the law, the key clauses and a working skeleton. It is general information, not legal advice; confirm a live deal with an Indian lawyer. ## What law governs a logistics services agreement in India? Several layers apply: - Indian Contract Act 1872. It governs the agreement generally and, importantly, contains the law of bailment (sections 148 to 171). A logistics provider that takes goods into its custody is a bailee and owes a duty to take reasonable care of the goods, with a lien for unpaid charges in defined circumstances. This duty of care is the backbone of carrier liability.

• Carriage by Road Act 2007. It regulates common carriers by road, requires registration of common carriers, and deals with their liability for loss or damage, including how liability can be limited and the role of declared value and goods forwarding notes.
• Multimodal Transportation of Goods Act 1993. It covers transport that combines more than one mode (for example road plus sea plus rail) under a single multimodal transport document.
• Sea and air carriage have their own regimes (such as the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1925 for carriage by sea) where relevant. ## GST, reverse charge and the e-way bill Tax handling is specific in logistics: - GST on goods transport. Services of a goods transport agency (GTA) have special treatment under GST, and in many cases the tax is payable by the recipient under the reverse charge mechanism rather than by the transporter. The agreement should set out who bears GST, the applicable rate, and the invoicing and documentation needed for input tax credit.
• E-way bill. For the movement of goods above the prescribed value, an electronic way bill must be generated under the GST rules. Allocate responsibility for generating and carrying the e-way bill, because a missing e-way bill can lead to detention of the consignment. ## Liability, insurance and risk Liability is the heart of a logistics contract. Decide the standard of care, any agreed limit on liability per consignment or per kilogram, and the exclusions (for example inherent vice, improper packing by the customer, or force majeure). Address: - Insurance. Who insures the goods in transit and in storage, the level of cover, and whether the provider's liability limit assumes the customer carries cargo insurance.
• Claims. Time limits for notifying loss or damage, the documents required, and the process for settlement.
• Title and risk. When risk in the goods passes, and custody handover points. ## Service levels and performance Logistics customers care about reliability, so include service levels: pickup and delivery windows, transit times, on-time delivery targets, temperature or handling conditions for sensitive cargo, and remedies or credits for repeated failures. Define measurement and reporting. ## Warehousing, demurrage and documentation Where the provider stores goods, treat warehousing as a distinct service with its own terms: storage charges, free storage periods, demurrage and detention for goods held beyond the agreed time, stock-count and reconciliation duties, and the condition in which goods are accepted and released. Documentation is often where disputes start, so specify the records that travel with each consignment: the consignment note or goods forwarding note, proof of delivery, packing lists, and any temperature or handling logs. Stamp duty on the agreement varies by state in India, so confirm the applicable stamp duty and who bears it. Clear documentation and a defined demurrage regime protect the provider against open-ended storage risk and give the customer a basis to challenge wrong charges. ## Key clauses in an Indian logistics services agreement - Scope of services: transport modes, warehousing, freight forwarding, value-added services and geography.
• Service levels: transit times, delivery windows, handling standards and reporting.
• Charges and GST: rate card, accessorial charges, who bears GST and reverse charge, and the e-way bill responsibility.
• Custody and bailment: the provider's duty of care as bailee, and any lien for unpaid charges.
• Liability and limits: standard of care, liability caps, exclusions and the interaction with the Carriage by Road Act.
• Insurance: cover for goods in transit and storage, and allocation between the parties.
• Claims handling: notice periods, documents and settlement.
• Subcontracting: whether the provider may use subcontractors, and responsibility for them.
• Confidentiality and data: customer and shipment data handling.
• Term, termination and governing law: notice, handover of stored goods on exit, Indian law and dispute resolution. ## A simple drafting skeleton 1. Parties and date

2. Definitions (consignment, services, delivery point)
3. Scope of services and geography
4. Service levels and performance
5. Charges, GST and e-way bill responsibility
6. Custody, bailment and lien
7. Liability, limits and exclusions
8. Insurance
9. Claims and loss or damage
10. Subcontracting
11. Confidentiality and data
12. Term and termination (including handover of stored goods)
13. Governing law and dispute resolution
14. Signatures Give the most attention to liability and limits, insurance and the GST and e-way bill allocation, because these decide who pays when goods are lost, damaged or delayed. ## Keeping marketing and vendor contracts under control The hard part is rarely one agreement. It is tracking many of them at once: which SLA target applies, when each renewal falls, which indemnity you accepted, and whether a clause was quietly changed in the last draft. That work (drafting from a tuned template, flagging risky clauses per clause, tracking renewals and keeping versions straight) is what an AI contract workspace can hold in one place. Adira is built for this: one AI workspace tuned to your company and built on Claude, with per-clause risk review, plain-English clause editing and a live activity timeline. It is India-first today, so it fits Indian contracting well. More at Adira. The law above stands on its own. ## Bottom line An Indian logistics services agreement rests on the Indian Contract Act 1872 (including the bailment duty of care), the Carriage by Road Act 2007, and, for combined modes, the Multimodal Transportation of Goods Act 1993. Handle GST carefully (often reverse charge for goods transport) and the e-way bill, set clear liability limits and insurance, and define service levels. Allocate risk plainly and take Indian advice before signing a real deal.