# Job work: track material sent out and what comes back

> Send goods to a job worker on a delivery challan, keep them in your own stock while they are away, and record what comes back, what was used up and what was wasted. Inputs must return within one year and capital goods within three, and ITC-04 is filed from the same challans.

## The goods are still yours

When you send cloth for stitching, castings for machining or parts for plating, nothing is sold. The goods
travel on a delivery challan, the job worker holds them for you, and they come back as something worth more.
Your books should show exactly that: the goods out of your warehouse, still in your stock, and with a named
job worker.

Where this goes wrong is not the law. It's the notebook. Goods go out on a handwritten challan, come back in
three lots, some are used up and some are wasted, and at the year end nobody can say what is still out.

## 1. One challan for every lot sent out

Number every challan and write on it the job worker, the job (cutting, polishing, plating), the date, and each
item with its quantity. Mark capital goods separately, because their time limit is three years, not one. Keep a
copy that travels with the goods and one that stays with you.

If the lot is worth more than ₹50,000, or the job worker is in another state, an e-Way Bill goes with it.

## 2. Record every return against its challan

Goods rarely come back in one go. Each time something arrives, record it against the challan it went out on:

- **Back as sent:** goods returned unused.
- **Made from them:** the finished or part-finished goods, which enter your stock.
- **Used up:** material consumed in the work.
- **Waste and scrap:** what was lost, so it is not counted as still out.

The challan then shows what was sent, what is back, what was used and what is still with the job worker.

## 3. Watch the deadline

Each challan has a due date: a year after sending for inputs, three years for capital goods. Look at what is
overdue every month. A lot that is still out after its deadline is treated as a supply on the day it left,
with GST and interest. Chasing it in the eleventh month is far cheaper.

## 4. File ITC-04 from the same entries

ITC-04 asks what you sent (table 4) and what came back (table 5A) in the period. If every challan and every
return is recorded, the return is a report, not a weekend of matching paper.

## How EaseDesk helps

In EaseDesk, **Manufacturing → Job work** makes the delivery challan from the goods you pick, and the goods
stay in your stock with that job worker. **Record goods back** takes what came back as sent, what was made,
what was used up and any waste, as often as goods arrive. Each challan gets its due date from the capital
goods switch and shows as Overdue after it. The ITC-04 tab lists tables 4 and 5A for the half-year or the
year, ready to download. See [manufacturing](/solutions/manufacturing) and
[how to send goods for job work](/help/operations/job-work).

## Questions

### Is sending goods for job work a sale?

No. The goods stay yours. They leave on a delivery challan, not an invoice, and stay in your stock at their cost until they come back or are used up in the work.

### How long can goods stay with a job worker?

Inputs must come back within one year and capital goods within three years of being sent out (section 143 of the CGST Act). Moulds, dies, jigs, fixtures and tools have no limit. Goods not back in time are treated as supplied to the job worker on the day they were sent, so GST becomes payable with interest.

### Do I need an e-Way Bill to send goods for job work?

Usually, when the consignment is worth more than ₹50,000. If the job worker is in another state, an e-Way Bill is needed whatever the value.

### Who files ITC-04 and how often?

You, as the principal who sends the goods. Half-yearly if your annual turnover is above ₹5 crore (due 25 October and 25 April), and once a year otherwise (due 25 April).

### How do I pay the job worker for the work?

The job worker raises an invoice for the job charges with GST. Record it as a purchase bill for the service and pay it like any other bill; the credit on it is yours.

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Source: https://www.easedesk.com/blog/job-work-track-material-sent-out · Updated 2026-11-10 · EaseDesk