Guides · Invoicing
Job work and the job-work challan
Job work is sending your goods to another party — a job worker — for processing, and getting them back. Under GST the movement is documented with a delivery challan, not a tax invoice, because there is no supply at that point.
How job work is documented
When a principal sends inputs or semi-finished goods to a job worker, the goods move on a delivery challan that identifies both parties, the goods, and the quantity. The processed goods return on a challan too, and finished goods may then be supplied under a tax invoice.
Because the goods remain the principal's, the challan — not an invoice — is the right document for each leg of the movement.
Tracking job-work movements
Job work creates a stream of outward and inward movements that have to be matched: what went out, what came back, and what is still with the job worker. Losing track of this is where reconciliation and GST problems start.
Each challan carries the same tax and HSN fields as other GST movements, and crosses the e-way bill threshold in the same way.
How Lekha handles job work
Lekha records job-work movements both ways — goods sent out and goods received back — with the challans that document them, so the paperwork matches the physical flow.
Lekha records what your documents say and tracks the money on both sides — what you owe and what you are owed. It records and tracks; it does not replace your accountant.
Questions
- Does job work need a tax invoice?
- No. Job-work movements use a delivery challan, because the goods are not being supplied when they move — they are sent for processing and returned.
- Who owns the goods during job work?
- The principal continues to own the goods sent for job work. The job worker processes them and returns them.
- Does a job-work challan need an e-way bill?
- If the consignment value crosses the e-way bill threshold, an e-way bill is generated against the job-work challan for the movement.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm the current rules and your own circumstances for any specific case.