Shipping Label vs Tax Invoice: What Sellers Should Know

Marketplace dispatch PDFs sometimes include both a courier shipping label and a tax invoice. The two documents serve different purposes.

Shipping label

A shipping label identifies the parcel for routing and delivery. It generally contains the recipient address, tracking or airway-bill number and scannable codes. A label must remain readable at the carrier’s required printed size.

Tax invoice

An invoice records transaction details, including seller and buyer information, listed items and relevant tax amounts. Its content and retention requirements depend on the transaction and applicable rules.

Why separate the two?

When a PDF places both sections on an A4 page, sellers using a small thermal printer may prefer to extract only the label area. This does not remove the need to keep the invoice where required by the marketplace or tax rules.

Using the Flipkart tool

CropShip has been checked with one combined E-Kart sample in which the shipping label appeared above a separate invoice section. The Flipkart Label Cropper can prepare the recognized label area as a 4 × 6 PDF, while you should retain the original invoice PDF for records.

Important checks

Confirm your marketplace’s latest dispatch requirements. Do not use a cropped label to replace an invoice when an invoice is mandatory.

CropShip is a browser-based seller utility. The tested Flipkart E-Kart sample supports automatic cropping and 4 × 6-inch PDF output. PDF structures vary by marketplace and over time; other marketplace formats may not work. Always verify labels before dispatch.