Warehouse Receipt

A warehouse receipt is a document issued by an accredited warehouse operator certifying that a specified quantity and quality of a commodity — such as gold, silver, cotton, soybeans, or steel — has been deposited and is being stored in the warehouse on behalf of the depositor. Warehouse receipts serve as a title document — the holder of the receipt has ownership rights over the stored commodity and can sell, pledge, or deliver it through commodity exchange settlement mechanisms. In India, warehouse receipts are a critical component of the commodity futures settlement infrastructure on MCX and NCDEX — commodity futures traders who choose physical settlement deliver or receive the underlying commodity against valid warehouse receipts from accredited delivery centres. SEBI regulates the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA), which accredits warehouses and standardises warehouse receipt issuance in India. Electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (e-NWR) — digitised receipts maintained on the WDRA platform — have replaced physical receipts for most commodity exchange settlements in India, reducing fraud risk and improving operational efficiency.