Section 143 of CGST Act: Job Work Procedure
Updated: 15 September 2026
Section 143 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 provides the special procedure under which a registered principal may send inputs or capital goods to a job worker without payment of tax, subject to prescribed conditions and time limits. The provision also governs return or onward supply of the goods, responsibility for records, deemed supply where time limits are breached, and disposal of waste and scrap.
- Inputs may generally remain outside the principal's premises for job work for up to one year.
- Capital goods, other than specified excluded items, may generally remain out for up to three years.
- Goods may move directly to a job worker and may move from one job worker to another under the prescribed procedure.
- The principal is responsible for maintaining proper accounts of inputs and capital goods.
- Failure to return or supply the goods within the statutory period results in a deemed supply from the date on which the goods were originally sent out.
Meaning of job work under GST
Section 2(68) of the CGST Act defines "job work" as any treatment or process undertaken by a person on goods belonging to another registered person. The person carrying out that treatment or process is the "job worker". For Section 143, the registered person whose goods are sent for job work is referred to as the principal.
Job work is therefore a process performed on goods belonging to another registered person; ownership of the goods remains relevant to the statutory scheme. The official CBIC text of the CGST Act contains the definitions and Section 143.
Text and effect of Section 143
Section 143(1): Sending goods for job work without payment of tax
A registered person, referred to in the section as the principal, may under intimation and subject to prescribed conditions send inputs or capital goods without payment of tax to a job worker. The goods may thereafter be sent to another job worker and likewise.
The principal must either bring back the inputs, after completion of job work or otherwise, within one year, and eligible capital goods within three years, to any of the principal's places of business without payment of tax; or supply those goods from the job worker's place of business within the same respective periods, on payment of tax within India or with or without payment of tax for export, as applicable.
Moulds and dies, jigs and fixtures, and tools are excluded from the three-year return requirement applicable to other capital goods.
Supply directly from the job worker's premises
As a general rule, the principal must declare the job worker's premises as an additional place of business before supplying the principal's goods directly from that premises. This condition does not apply where the job worker is registered under Section 25, or where the principal supplies goods covered by a notification issued by the Commissioner for this purpose.
Section 143(2): Responsibility for accounts
The responsibility for keeping proper accounts of the inputs or capital goods lies with the principal.
Section 143(3): Inputs not returned or supplied within one year
If inputs sent for job work are neither received back nor supplied from the job worker's premises in accordance with Section 143(1) within one year of being sent out, the law deems the inputs to have been supplied by the principal to the job worker on the date on which they were originally sent out.
Section 143(4): Capital goods not returned or supplied within three years
If capital goods, other than moulds and dies, jigs and fixtures, or tools, are neither received back nor supplied in accordance with Section 143(1) within three years, they are deemed to have been supplied by the principal to the job worker on the date on which they were originally sent out.
Section 143(5): Waste and scrap
Waste and scrap generated during job work may be supplied directly by a registered job worker from the job worker's place of business on payment of tax. If the job worker is not registered, the supply is to be made by the principal.
Explanation: Intermediate goods
For job work purposes, "input" includes intermediate goods arising from any treatment or process carried out on the inputs by the principal or the job worker.
Section 19 and input tax credit on goods sent for job work
Section 19 of the CGST Act complements Section 143. Subject to prescribed conditions, the principal can take input tax credit on inputs and capital goods sent for job work. The law also permits credit where the goods are sent directly to the job worker without first being brought to the principal's place of business.
Where goods are sent directly to a job worker, the one-year period for inputs and the three-year period for capital goods are counted from the date the job worker receives them. The statutory exceptions for moulds and dies, jigs and fixtures, and tools also apply in the manner specified in Section 19.
Rule 45: Challan and FORM GST ITC-04
Rule 45 of the CGST Rules, 2017 prescribes the principal compliance procedure. Inputs, semi-finished goods or capital goods sent to a job worker must move under a challan issued by the principal, including where the goods are sent directly to the job worker. The challan must contain the particulars prescribed by Rule 55. The rules also permit prescribed endorsement procedures when goods move between job workers.
| Compliance point | Current requirement |
|---|---|
| Movement document | Challan under Rule 45 containing the particulars required by Rule 55. |
| FORM GST ITC-04: preceding FY turnover above Rs. 5 crore | Specified period is each six consecutive months beginning 1 April and 1 October; the form is due on or before the 25th day of the month following the relevant period, unless extended. |
| FORM GST ITC-04: other principals | Specified period is the financial year; the form is due on or before the 25th day of the month following the relevant period, unless extended. |
| Time limit for inputs | One year, subject to the statutory rules on when the period begins. |
| Time limit for capital goods | Three years, excluding moulds and dies, jigs and fixtures, and tools from the specified return requirement. |
| Time limit missed | Deemed supply from the original dispatch date; Rule 45 provides for declaration in FORM GSTR-1 and payment of tax with applicable interest. |
The present ITC-04 periodicity was introduced with effect from 1 October 2021 by Notification No. 35/2021-Central Tax. See the official Notification No. 35/2021-Central Tax.
Practical job work procedure under GST
- The registered principal identifies the inputs, semi-finished goods or capital goods to be sent for job work.
- The goods are dispatched under the prescribed challan. Direct dispatch by a supplier to the job worker is also contemplated by the GST framework.
- The principal tracks movement to the first and any subsequent job workers and maintains proper accounts.
- After processing, the goods may be returned to the principal or, subject to Section 143, supplied from the job worker's premises.
- The principal monitors the one-year or three-year statutory period, as applicable.
- Required challan details are reported through FORM GST ITC-04 for the applicable specified period.
CBIC clarification on job work
CBIC Circular No. 38/12/2018-GST dated 26 March 2018 explains several operational issues concerning job work, including movement of goods, registration, supply from a job worker's premises and related compliance. Readers may refer to the official Circular No. 38/12/2018-GST.
Related CGST Act provisions
For connected provisions on this website, see Section 141 - Transitional provision relating to job work, Section 142 - Miscellaneous transitional provisions, Section 144 - Presumption as to documents in certain cases, and Section 145 - Admissibility of specified records as documents and evidence.