Job work procedure
Section 143, CGST Act
Straight from CBIC
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Section 143 sets out the JOB WORK procedure: a principal may send inputs/capital goods to a job worker without paying tax and bring them back or supply from there; if inputs are not returned within one year (capital goods three years), it is deemed a supply on the day they were sent out.
What this means in practice
The parts that actually decide cases — the things a practitioner checks first.
The one-year and three-year clocks run from the date the goods are SENT OUT; failure to bring them back makes it a deemed supply on that original date, with interest from then.
Moulds, dies, jigs, fixtures and tools are outside the time limits.
The principal may supply the goods directly from the job worker’s premises if that place is declared as an additional place of business, or the job worker is registered, or the goods are notified.
Waste generated at the job worker’s premises may be supplied by him if registered, otherwise by the principal.
Procedure is in Rule 45: delivery challan, records, and ITC-04 half-yearly above Rs 5 crore turnover, annually below.
Questions people actually ask
Real questions we get on this provision, answered straight.
Can we sell directly from our job worker’s factory?+
Yes, if you have declared his premises as your additional place of business, or he is himself registered, or the goods are of a notified class. Otherwise the goods have to come back to you first, and selling from there exposes both of you.
How this provision is built
The skeleton, clause by clause — useful when a notice cites a specific sub-clause.
The exact words of the law
3,284 characters, uneditedReproduced from the CBIC text. We explain it above — but you should always be able to read it yourself.
Read the full provision+
(1) A registered person (hereafter in this section referred to as the " principal " ) may under intimation and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed , send any inputs or capital goods, without payment of tax, to a job worker for job work and from there subsequently send to another job worker and likewise, and shall,-
(a) bring back inputs, after completion of job work or otherwise, or capital goods, other than moulds and dies, jigs and fixtures, or tools, within one year and three years, respectively, of their being sent out, to any of his place of business, without payment of tax;
(b) supply such inputs, after completion of job work or otherwise, or capital goods, other than moulds and dies, jigs and fixtures, or tools, within one year and three years, respectively, of their being sent out from the place of business of a job worker on payment of tax within India, or with or without payment of tax for export, as the case may be: Provided that the principal shall not supply the goods from the place of business of a job worker in accordance with the provisions of this clause unless the said principal declares the place of business of the job worker as his additional place of business except in a case –
(i) where the job worker is registered under section 25 ; or (ii) where the principal is engaged in the supply of such goods as may be notified by the Commissioner: 1 [ Provided further that the period of one year and three years may, on sufficient cause being shown, be extended by the Commissioner for a further period not exceeding one year and two years respectively.]
(2) The responsibility for keeping proper accounts for the inputs or capital goods shall lie with the principal.
(3) Where the inputs sent for job work are not received back by the principal after completion of job work or otherwise in accordance with the provisions of clause
(a) of sub-section
(1) or are not supplied from the place of business of the job worker in accordance with the provisions of clause
(b) of sub-section
(1) within a period of one year of their being sent out, it shall be deemed that such inputs had been supplied by the principal to the job worker on the day when the said inputs were sent out.
(4) Where the capital goods, other than moulds and dies, jigs and fixtures, or tools, sent for job work are not received back by the principal in accordance with the provisions of clause
(a) of sub-section
(1) or are not supplied from the place of business of the job worker in accordance with the provisions of clause
(b) of sub-section
(1) within a period of three years of their being sent out, it shall be deemed that such capital goods had been supplied by the principal to the job worker on the day when the said capital goods were sent out.
(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections
(1) and (2), any waste and scrap generated during the job work may be supplied by the job worker directly from his place of business on payment of tax, if such job worker is registered, or by the principal, if the job worker is not registered. Explanation .-For the purposes of job work, input includes intermediate goods arising from any treatment or process carried out on the inputs by the principal or the job worker.
What changed, and when
The amendment trail, newest first — because the version that applies to your case depends on the period.
date not stated · Inserted
Inserted by s.29 of The Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2018 (No. 31 of 2018) -Brought into force w.e.f. 01st February, 2019.
Where this comes from
Text reproduced from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, as available on 2026-09-05. The explanation and practice notes above are GSTZone’s own, written for this hub. If you spot anything out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it — this hub is checked daily against CBIC.
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