Who this guide is for
Security heads, facilities managers, stores in-charges and finance controllers in India who design or audit gate passes at a factory, warehouse, office or campus. The templates work as a printed form, a spreadsheet or fields in your ERP or visitor management system. Confirm GST treatment with your chartered accountant.
Gate pass types: which one you need
Keep people, goods and vehicles on separate passes, because each pass closes on a different event.
| Pass | Used for | Closes when |
|---|---|---|
| Visitor gate pass | Guests, vendors, candidates, contractors, delivery staff | The visitor leaves and the pass is returned or expires |
| Returnable gate pass (RGP) | Goods that must come back: repair, calibration, job work, trials, loaned tools and laptops | Every item is back and received by stores |
| Non-returnable gate pass (NRGP) | Goods leaving for good: sales, scrap, rejections, free samples, disposals | The guard matches goods, documents and vehicle at exit |
| Vehicle gate pass | Trucks, tankers, vendor and visitor vehicles | The vehicle exits with its outward documents checked |
For how a plant gate runs day to day, see visitor management for factories; for contractor passes and inductions, see contractor management under the OSH Code.
One “gate pass book” for people, goods and vehicles ends with half the columns blank and no way to tell which passes are open.
Rules that apply to every gate pass format
- A header. [Company name], [site address], [GSTIN on material passes], the pass type, and which copy this is (for example: original with the party or driver, duplicate with security, triplicate with the issuing department).
- Serial numbers, never reused. Prefix by type and site, then a running number (for example RGP-PUN1-2026-0457). Printed books are pre-numbered, and a cancelled pass stays in the book marked “cancelled”.
- A named approver. The matrix below says who may sign each pass and up to what value. No blank passes pre-signed by managers in the security cabin.
- A validity. Visitor passes expire at the end of the visit; material passes carry an expected return date; vehicle passes end at exit.
- A recorded check. Who checked, when, and what they compared: count, serial numbers, seal, document numbers.
- A closing step. Every pass ends closed, part-closed or overdue, and someone owns the overdue list.
Put these rules in your policy so they bind everyone (our policy template has clauses to adapt).
Gate pass approval matrix
Replace the bracketed limits with your own delegation of authority.
| Pass | Raised by | Approved by | Checked and closed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visitor | Host or reception | Host, or a named backup if the host does not answer | Guard at entry and exit |
| RGP | User department | Head of department up to ₹[limit]; site head above | Guard at exit; stores on return |
| NRGP (sale or return to supplier) | Dispatch or stores | The invoice or debit note is the approval | Guard at exit |
| NRGP (scrap, samples, disposal) | Stores | Site head and finance | Guard at exit, with weighbridge slip; finance on payment |
| Vehicle | Security | Security supervisor | Guard at entry and exit |
Visitor gate pass format
A visitor pass has two parts: the record you keep, and the badge the visitor carries.
| Field | What to write | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pass number | V-[site code]-[serial] | Never reused |
| Date, time in, valid until | [date], [time], [time or “end of visit”] | Expiry shows on the badge |
| Visitor name and organisation | [Name], [company or “personal”] | |
| Visitor type | Guest, vendor, contractor, candidate, delivery, official | Decides what else you ask |
| Host | [Name], [department or tenant], [floor] | |
| Areas allowed and escort | [Zones]; escort [name] or “none” | |
| Approved by | [Name], [time] | |
| ID verified | Yes or no, by [guard’s name] | Record the check, never the number |
| Items declared at entry | [Laptop and serial], [tools], [samples] | Checked again at exit |
| Vehicle | Vehicle pass [number] or “none” | Links the two passes |
| Site rules and notice | Rules [version] accepted; notice [version, language] shown | |
| Photo, mobile number | Only where policy needs them | Never on the badge; erase within days |
| Time out, pass returned | [time], [guard] | Fills the evacuation headcount |
The badge shows only “VISITOR” in a colour staff passes never use, the visitor’s name and organisation, host, areas allowed, “escort required” where it applies, valid until, and the pass number, with the assembly point and the site emergency number on the back. Never print a mobile number or an ID number on it.
Every field you collect needs a line in the visitor’s notice, which must give “an itemised description” of the data (DPDP Rules 2025, Rule 3(b)(i)), so keep the record short. In a cardholder data environment, PCI DSS v4.0.1 requirements 9.3.2 and 9.3.3 add expiring badges that set visitors apart from staff and are surrendered or deactivated at exit (see our PCI DSS visitor log guide). The guard’s steps are in our security guard SOP for visitor entry.
Retire the laminated “VISITOR 07” card that is never collected and works for months. Use a pass that expires on its own, such as a single-use printed tag or a pass on the visitor’s phone.
Returnable material gate pass format (RGP)
The returnable pass is where goods quietly disappear, so it carries the most fields.
| Field | What to write |
|---|---|
| RGP number and date | RGP-[site code]-[year]-[serial], [date] |
| Issuing unit | [Company name], [unit address], [GSTIN] |
| Raised by | [Name], [department] |
| Sent to | [Party name], [address], [GSTIN if registered] |
| Purpose and reference | Repair, calibration, job work, trial or loan; [PO, work order or service request number] |
| GST document | Delivery challan [number], [date] |
| E-way bill | [Number], or “not required: [reason]” |
| Mode | [Transporter and vehicle number], or “hand carried by [name]” |
| Expected return date | [date] (mandatory) |
| Approved by | [Name], [designation], [date] |
| Security check out | [Guard], [time], [seal number] |
| Received by party | [Name], [date], signature on the duplicate |
| Line | Item and description | Serial or asset number | Quantity | Value (₹) | Returned: quantity, date, GRN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (example) | PG-063, pressure gauge 0 to 10 bar | SN 41187 | 1 no. | 4,800 | 1 no., [date], GRN [number] |
| 2 | [Item] | [Serial] | [Qty] | [Value] | [Return details] |
Closure block: received at gate ([date], [guard]); received by stores ([name], [GRN]); condition (as sent, repaired, calibrated with certificate number, damaged); status (open, part-returned, closed, written off with approval); closed by ([name], [date]).
Offices use the same pass for laptops. ISO/IEC 27002:2022 folded the old “removal of assets” control into 7.10 “Storage media” (NQA mapping), so record who authorised the device leaving and whether it is encrypted (ISO 27001 guide).
Record serial numbers for anything that has one. A guard who counts “6 gauges out, 6 gauges in” cannot tell that six older gauges came back.
Non-returnable material gate pass format (NRGP)
| Field | What to write |
|---|---|
| NRGP number and date | NRGP-[site code]-[year]-[serial], [date] |
| Issuing unit | [Company name], [unit address], [GSTIN] |
| Raised by | [Name], [department] |
| Reason | Sale, scrap sale, return to supplier, free sample, transfer to own unit, disposal |
| Party | [Name], [address], [GSTIN if registered] |
| Commercial document | Tax invoice, debit note, scrap sale order or delivery challan [number], [date] |
| E-way bill | [Number], or “not required: [reason]” |
| Items | Line table as on the RGP: item code, description, quantity, value (₹) |
| Weighbridge slip (scrap, bulk) | [Slip number]: gross, tare, net |
| Waste document (hazardous waste, e-waste) | [Number] under the applicable environmental rules |
| Vehicle | [Vehicle number], [transporter], [driver’s name] |
| Approved by | [Name], [designation] |
| Security check out | [Guard], [time], goods and documents matched |
| Received by | [Driver or party name], signature |
Never let scrap leave on an estimated weight. Weigh the vehicle empty on entry and loaded on exit, and put both figures on the pass.
Vehicle gate pass format
A vehicle pass tracks the truck; the material passes track what is on it. Link them by number.
| Field | What to write |
|---|---|
| Pass number | VEH-[site code]-[serial] |
| Vehicle number and type | [Number]; truck, tanker, van, car |
| Transporter and driver | [Company], [driver’s name]; ID verified by [guard] where policy requires |
| Persons on board | Driver and [number] helpers, names recorded for the headcount |
| Purpose | Delivery, dispatch, scrap pickup, service visit, visitor parking |
| Inward documents | Invoice or challan [number], e-way bill [number] |
| Seal and weighbridge | Seal [number] intact at entry; tare [kg] in, gross [kg] out |
| Bay or parking zone | [Bay] |
| Hazardous goods checks | TREM card in the cabin, class labels and emergency information panel shown, driver’s hazardous goods training seen (Goa factories inspectorate circular; check your State’s) |
| Site rules briefed | Speed limit, no smoking, PPE at the bay |
| Approved by | [Security supervisor’s name] |
| Times | In [time], out [time], checked by [guard] |
| Outward check | RGP or NRGP [number], invoice or challan, e-way bill [number] valid until [date and time], seal [number] |
Before the vehicle leaves, check its number against Part B of the e-way bill and check the bill is still valid. Validity is one day for each 200 km or part of it, the first day running to midnight of the day after generation (rule 138(10)); if goods change vehicle, Part B is updated first (rule 138(5)).
How a material gate pass relates to the e-way bill and delivery challan
A gate pass is your internal authority for goods to cross the gate. It never replaces the GST documents (“we have an RGP, so no challan” is a common mistake); it records their numbers.
- Delivery challan (rule 55). Goods may move on a challan instead of an invoice for job work, for “reasons other than supply” and in a few other cases. It carries its number and date, both parties’ GSTINs, HSN code, quantity, taxable value, tax where it is a supply, and a signature. For job work, the principal prepares it in triplicate and two copies may travel with the goods (Circular 38/12/2018).
- E-way bill (rule 138). A registered person moving goods above ₹50,000 consignment value, tax included, generates one, whether the movement is a supply, for “reasons other than supply” or an inward supply from an unregistered person. Goods a principal sends to a job worker in another State need one whatever their value. Within a State, some States set a higher limit (an April 2025 Vakilsearch list gives ₹1 lakh for Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Punjab and Bihar) or exempt some job work movements, so check your State’s current notification.
- Job work time limits (section 143). Inputs must come back, or be supplied from the job worker’s premises, within one year, and capital goods within three; the Commissioner may extend these by up to one and two years. Moulds and dies, jigs and fixtures, and tools are exempt. Otherwise the goods are treated as supplied on the day they left.
| Movement out of your gate | Document that travels | E-way bill |
|---|---|---|
| Sale | Tax invoice | Above ₹50,000 |
| Job work, same State | Delivery challan (rules 45 and 55) | Above ₹50,000 |
| Job work, another State | Delivery challan | Always |
| Repair, calibration, trial or loan | Delivery challan | Above ₹50,000 |
| Goods on approval for sale | Delivery challan; invoice when sold (Circular 10/10/2017) | Wherever applicable |
| To your own unit under another GSTIN | Tax invoice (Schedule I) | Above ₹50,000 |
| To a weighbridge and back, up to 20 km | Delivery challan | Not required (rule 138(14)(n)) |
Within a State, read ₹50,000 as your State’s limit. Goods a job worker returns in instalments need a fresh challan from the job worker (Circular 38/12/2018).
The portal, as of October 2026. Since 1 January 2025, an e-way bill can be generated only for a document dated within 180 days and extended only to 360 days from generation (GSTN advisory, December 2024), and two-factor authentication has been mandatory for all users since 1 April 2025. Mandatory ship-to GSTIN capture and voluntary e-way bill closure, announced for 1 August 2026, were put on hold until further notice by GSTN advisory 668 of 29 July 2026.
Why the match matters. Goods in transit without proper documents can be detained; since 1 January 2022 an owner who comes forward pays a penalty of 200 per cent of the tax payable on taxable goods for their release (CGST Act, section 129).
Make the guard’s last check three numbers on one line: gate pass, challan or invoice, and e-way bill, all against the vehicle number. Raise the pass after the challan exists.
Closing returnable passes: the weekly review
Open returnable passes list your assets in other people’s hands. Review them weekly with stores and finance.
| Status | Action |
|---|---|
| Overdue up to 30 days | Department head chases the party |
| Overdue 31 to 90 days | Site head reviews; finance is told |
| Job work inputs near one year, capital goods near three | Finance decides: bring back, supply from the job worker, seek an extension, or treat as supplied |
| Party cannot trace the goods | Write-off with approval and an incident record |
Job work challans are reported in Form GST ITC-04, which serves as the intimation section 143 envisages (Circular 38/12/2018). Under rule 45(3), a principal whose aggregate turnover in the previous year exceeded ₹5 crore files it for each half-year, by 25 October and 25 April, and others once for the year, by 25 April. Your open RGP list and your ITC-04 should tell the same story.
Give each overdue pass an owner by name.
How long to keep gate pass records
- Material passes, challans and e-way bill records. Section 36 of the CGST Act keeps books and records for 72 months after the due date of the annual return, longer while an appeal or investigation is open. Material passes support your stock records, so keep them as long; agree this with your tax adviser.
- Visitor and vehicle passes. DPDP Rule 8(3) requires personal data, associated traffic data and processing logs to be kept for at least one year “for the purposes as specified in the Seventh Schedule”; Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan read it as binding every data fiduciary. Where another law requires longer, as GST law does for material records, that law governs (section 8(7)). Most duties apply from 13 May 2027 (Rule 1(4); Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas gives 14 May 2027). A January 2026 proposal to shorten the timeline (Business Standard) had not been notified as of 12 October 2026 (S.S. Rana & Co.).
Keep the visit record and its logs for one year, then erase them; keep photos and mobile numbers for days, as a written decision your DPO and counsel sign off (DPDP guide).
Gate pass checklist
Where Orb fits
Orb, our visitor management system, handles the visitor side of the gate.
A pass that expires on its own
The visitor’s phone becomes the pass, with a code that changes every minute so a screenshot is useless.
The guard’s check
The guard scans the pass on a phone and sees photo, name, host and approval.
A reception that wants printed passes
An optional self-service kiosk by Orb gives out use-and-throw visitor tags that are never reused, so nobody has to collect them back.
Contractors and vendor engineers
NDAs and inductions are signed before arrival, with ID verification for the visitor types your policy names.
Questions buyers ask
What is the format of a gate pass?
A header with company and site, a serial number, date, the person or goods covered, purpose, a named approver, a validity or expected return date, and the guard’s check out and in. Use separate formats for visitors, returnable and non-returnable material, and vehicles.
What is the difference between a returnable and a non-returnable gate pass?
A returnable gate pass covers goods that must come back, such as items sent for repair or job work, and stays open until stores receive them. A non-returnable pass covers goods leaving for good: sales, scrap, returns to a supplier.
Is a gate pass the same as a delivery challan?
No. A gate pass is your internal permission for goods to leave; a delivery challan is the GST document under rule 55 of the CGST Rules for goods moved without an invoice, such as for job work or repair. An e-way bill (rule 138) applies on top where value or route requires.
Is an e-way bill needed for goods sent for repair?
Generally yes, above ₹50,000 consignment value (or your State’s limit within the State), because rule 138(1) covers movement “for reasons other than supply”. If your adviser treats the repair as job work and the repairer is in another State, one is needed whatever the value.
Should a visitor gate pass include ID proof details?
No. Record that ID was verified and by whom where your policy requires a check, but never the number or a copy.
How long should we keep gate pass records?
Material passes with your GST records, 72 months after the annual return due date (CGST Act, section 36). Visitor and vehicle records for one year (DPDP Rule 8(3)), and photos and mobile numbers for days, as a decision your DPO and counsel sign off.
Sources
- Rule 138, CGST Rules 2017 (e-way bill), GSTZen reproduction
- Rule 55, CGST Rules 2017 (transportation of goods without issue of invoice), GSTZen reproduction
- Rule 45, CGST Rules 2017 (job work and Form GST ITC-04), as amended by Notification 35/2021-CT, GSTZen reproduction
- Section 143, CGST Act 2017 (job work procedure), ICAI Vasai Branch reproduction
- Section 36, CGST Act 2017 (period of retention of accounts), KnowYourGST reproduction
- Schedule I, CGST Act 2017 (supply without consideration), GSTGyaan reproduction
- Circular No. 38/12/2018-GST on job work, CBEC GST Policy Wing, 26 March 2018
- Circular No. 10/10/2017-GST on goods sent on approval basis, CBEC, 18 October 2017
- GSTN advisory on updates to e-way bill and e-invoice systems, Taxo, reporting the GSTN advisory of December 2024
- India e-way bill: August 2026 enhancements on hold (regulatory update), Sovos, 30 July 2026
- GSTN advisory 668: e-way bill enhancements kept on hold, LookupTax, reporting the advisory of 29 July 2026
- E-way bill changes 2026: GSTN puts August updates on hold, Busy, 11 August 2026 (two-factor authentication since 1 April 2025)
- E-way bill limit 2025: State-wise list of thresholds, Vakilsearch on Mondaq, 28 April 2025
- Synopsis of intra-State e-way bill rules, TaxGuru, 21 April 2021 (State job work exemptions)
- Amendments to sections 129 and 130 of the CGST Act notified from 1 January 2022, TaxGuru
- Safe transportation of hazardous substances, Inspectorate of Factories and Boilers, Government of Goa
- Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard: Requirements and Testing Procedures, v4.0.1, PCI Security Standards Council, June 2024
- ISO/IEC 27002 mapping of 2022 controls to earlier controls, NQA
- DPDP Rules 2025, Rule 1 (commencement), dpdpa.com reproduction of the Gazette text
- DPDP Rules 2025, Rule 3 (notice), dpdpa.com reproduction of the Gazette text
- DPDP Rules 2025, Rule 8 (retention and erasure), dpdpa.com reproduction of the Gazette text
- FAQs on the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and Rules, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, law as on 7 December 2025
- Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025: incremental tweaks and the way ahead, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan, updated 16 July 2026
- MeitY may cut compliance timeline for key DPDP rules to 12 months, Business Standard, 22 January 2026
- DPDP Removal of Difficulties Order 2026: what has been changed, S.S. Rana & Co., 12 October 2026
This guide reflects the law and published guidance as of 18 October 2026. It is general information, not legal or tax advice: confirm GST treatment with your chartered accountant and data decisions with your counsel.
