Challan or Chalan is a common

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

word (चालान, cālān) that has become an

Indian English Indian English (IE) is a group of English dialects spoken in the republic of India and among the Indian diaspora. English is used by the Indian government for communication, along with Hindi, as enshrined in the Constitution of India. E ...

technical word used officially in many professional, especially financial transactions. It usually means an official

form Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form also refers to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data ...

or receipt of acknowledgement or other kind of proof

document A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', which denotes a "teaching" or ...

, piece of paperwork, police citation, etc. According to American

Merriam-Webster Dictionary ''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758–1843), as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's ...

"Chalan" means voucher or invoice, comes from Hindi word of same sound and used in India. Similarly, British-English Dictionary

Lexico Lexico was a dictionary website that provided a collection of English and Spanish dictionaries produced by Oxford University Press (OUP), the publishing house of the University of Oxford. While the dictionary content on Lexico came from OUP, th ...

also defines Challan as noun, "an official form or document, such as a receipt, invoice, or summons," and verb, "issue (someone) with an official notice of a traffic offence" and gives several examples of their applications, which are also paralleled by the Oxford Learner's Dictionary's two separate entries on the same.

Wiktionary Wiktionary ( , , rhyming with "dictionary") is a multilingual, web-based project to create a free content dictionary of terms (including words, phrases, proverbs, linguistic reconstructions, etc.) in all natural languages and in a number ...

also gives examples of application the word Challa

in southeast Asia including its use as a verb with challaning and challaned used similar in context and meaning to police Traffic ticket, ticketing or someone being ticketed. While most of the dictionaries talk about the meaning representing a monetary penalty which is true in most real cases,

Collins English Dictionary The ''Collins English Dictionary'' is a printed and online dictionary of English. It is published by HarperCollins in Glasgow. The edition of the dictionary in 1979 with Patrick Hanks as editor and Laurence Urdang as editorial director, was ...

goes one step further and defines the verb part of the meaning of Chalan as "verb (transitive), to cause (an accused person) to appear before a magistrate," which in reality happens only in a subset of cases of Challan when a person misses paying the Challan and the matter moves to the next step of receiving a summon from a court.

Etymology

The

word (

Challan Challan or Chalan is a common Hindi word (चालान, cālān) that has become an Indian English technical word used officially in many professional, especially financial transactions. It usually means an official form or receipt of ackn ...

comes from the

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

word Challan ( چالان)/( चालान

which in turn comes from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

root verb "Chal" (चल) which means movement. So challans have something to do with mobility or passage or transfer. Thus Challan possibly literally refers to the monetary transfer i.e. a transaction coupled with the other official act described in the paper or electronic pre-filled or printed form given as Challan. In contrast to the Police stations that have a large "

Diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

" where FIR etc. are lodged, Traffic police officers, on the street or in their mobile vans, carry portable printed Challan booklets, the mobility of which could be another connotation relevant to literal meaning of the word Challan. These booklets have provision of paper Half Cutting or Perforating or Creasing, along which they would tear off half of an individual leaflet. After making duplicate entries on either side, the Traffic Police Officer would detach the distal half piece off the challan booklet and issue to the offender as the "challan", in their official capacity.

Derivatives, Portmanteau words, and Phrases

It is common to have

Portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsEnglish-Hindi

Portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsHindi-English phrases that are even officially abbreviated e.g. C.I.N. or "Challan Identification Number" in technical applications.

Application of "Challan" in Different Contexts

As opposed to the banking Challan which is an acknowledgement receipt for a credit, in case of a Traffic Challan, the receipt or ticket usually represents acknowledgment of an accusation for a penalty which is usually fine of a sum of money.

Challan as a Monetary Credit receipt

Banking Challan

In case of banking "Challan" is a way of crediting the money to one's

bank account A bank account is a financial account maintained by a bank or other financial institution in which the financial transactions between the bank and a customer are recorded. Each financial institution sets the terms and conditions for each type o ...

through a form, generally used in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

as a receipt for

payment A payment is the voluntary tender of money or its equivalent or of things of value by one party (such as a person or company) to another in exchange for goods, or services provided by them, or to fulfill a legal obligation. The party making the p ...

or delivery, and "C.I.N." would stand for "Challan Identification Number". As per one definition on a management website: ''"A challan or bank challan is defined as an official document, form, or piece of paper used to credit money from one account to another. It is almost similar to the deposit slip available in the bank with which you can deposit money into someone's account in cash. However, in the deposit slip you need to enter the recipient's data and details while in the bank challan, they are already pre-filled."''

Tax Challans

Several Tax forms in India are known as Tax Challan forms e.g. CHALLAN NO./ITNS 280, CHALLAN NO./ITNS 281, CHALLAN NO./ITNS 282, CHALLAN NO./ITNS 283. The abbreviation CIN is also used in this context of tax forms as well.

Delivery Challan

When an item is delivered, the proof of delivery receipt is a Delivery Challan. Sometimes items are paid after delivery and physical verification of the delivered item and the "Delivery Challan" with receiving signature is held for future payment against it. Thus delivering items in advance "on a loan basis" before processing payment or procurement has come to be described as delivering "on a Challan basis". In this case the term "loan basis" or "credit basis" is relative because both parties might keep a copy of the challan. But if there is only one original copy, then the receiver signs and puts receive details (usually of intact package), time and date etc. on the Challan and hands it as a receipt of delivery credit to the party who sent the consignment.

General Payment receipt challan

Any payment receipt from a big institution, especially govt institution issued to an individual may be termed a challan. e.g. Oxford Learners Dictionary gives an example "You need to show a copy of the fee payment challan before you can take the exam.

Challan as a punitive citation for an offence or infringement

Traffic Challan

Another example of use of "Challan" is as a

traffic ticket A traffic ticket is a notice issued by a law enforcement official to a Driving, motorist or other road user, indicating that the user has violated Traffic, traffic laws. Traffic tickets generally come in two forms, citing a moving violation, suc ...

issued by the traffic police for a violation of traffic rules by a driver. When a traffic challan is issued against a person's name he or she is responsible to pay the penalty depending on the type of violation made as per the Indian Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Traffic Challan can be paid by various mechanisms e.g. by cash, at an e-seva center, or by any other payment mode as specified on the challan.

Challans under Section 188 of Indian Penal Code

Usually Traffic Police carry a Receipt book named a Challan Book. But other than traffic violations other offenses may be also Challaned with a Magistrates order under Section 188 of Indian Penal Code e.g. instances of not wearing mask during covid have been Challaned u/s 188 IPC.

e-Challan

e-Challan is an electronic format of challan. An e-challan can also be defined as a specific format used for depositing or remitting the contribution or statutory payment at a bank or treasury.

Traffic eChallan

Many Indian state governments have established a new challan system called e-challans. The e-challan system of India has been in vogue for almost a decade, starting to roll out in pilot phases from 2012 onward. The e-challan may be operated by PDAs, cell phones or e-Seva Kendras whose e-services include facility for payment of e-challans for traffic violation. They have also established web portals where one can check if their vehicle has any

traffic offences A moving violation is any violation of the law committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is in motion. The term "motion" distinguishes it from other motor vehicle violations, such as paperwork violations (which include violations involving a ...

registered against it. This website will detail the offence description,

fine Fine may refer to: Characters * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (penalty), money to be paid as punishment for an offe ...

amount, user charges, and the total fine amount. In

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city the system started in October 2013 and service uses hand-held machines for Spot Fining System, which runs on a low cost platform named VIOLET (Violation Prevention and Regulation Enforcement), which runs of android-based tablets or cellular phone and is also integrated to a Bluetooth printer to dispatch receipts. Other initial cities where it started becoming operational included

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, Bangalore,

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, Delhi, Vijayawada etc., followed by Mumbai and Pune by mid 2015. Nowadays e-Challan in India may be followed up in a virtual court as well.

Banking e-Challan

Just like Traffic challan, banking challan also has corresponding e-challan in many banks.

References

External links

Hyderabad Traffic official web site : click on eChallan Status

EChallan

Government of Chhattisgarh Government of Chhattisgarh also known as the State Government of Chhattisgarh, or locally as State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive, led by the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:E-Challan E-government in India Government of Andhra Pradesh Government of Tamil Nadu Road transport in India