On a Monday morning a Surat grey-fabric trader loads 600 metres of fabric worth ₹37,200 onto a tempo bound for an embroidery unit in Bhiwandi. The value is below ₹50,000, so the driver leaves without an e-way bill. That is a mistake. When goods go from a principal in one State to a job worker in another, the e-way bill is compulsory whatever the value.
Inside a State the normal value limit applies. The principal usually generates the e-way bill against a delivery challan, not a tax invoice, and the return trip has its own rules. This guide covers who generates it in each job work situation, what to fill in, and the details that get consignments detained.
Is an e-way bill required for job work?
Yes, in most cases. Rule 138 of the CGST Rules requires an e-way bill for movement of goods worth more than ₹50,000, and that includes movement for reasons other than a sale. Job work is one of those reasons. A proviso to Rule 138(1) then goes further: where a principal in one State sends goods to a job worker in another State, the e-way bill has to be generated irrespective of the value of the consignment.
So:
Inter-State job work: e-way bill needed for every consignment, even ₹5,000 of fabric.
Intra-State job work: e-way bill needed when the consignment value crosses ₹50,000, or the limit your State has notified. States set their own intra-State limits and exemptions, so check the current notification for yours.
Who generates the e-way bill for job work?
The person causing the movement generates it. In job work that person changes depending on which leg of the journey you are on and who holds a GST registration.
Movement | Who generates it | Value limit | Document |
|---|---|---|---|
Principal to job worker, different States | Principal, or the job worker if registered | None, any value | Principal’s delivery challan |
Principal to job worker, same State | Principal, or the job worker if registered | ₹50,000 or State limit | Principal’s delivery challan |
Job worker back to principal | Job worker if registered; principal if the job worker is unregistered | Normal limit on a strict reading | Copy of the challan, plus the job worker’s invoice for charges |
Job worker to another job worker | Sending job worker if registered, otherwise the principal | Same as the first two rows | Challan issued by the principal or the job worker |
Supplier sends inputs straight to the job worker | Supplier | Normal supply rules | Supplier’s tax invoice, billed to the principal and shipped to the job worker |
An unregistered job worker has no GSTIN to generate an e-way bill on, so the principal generates it for both legs. Many principals simply take charge of every movement.
What do you mention on a job work e-way bill?
Part A carries the document and goods details; Part B carries the vehicle. The fields that go wrong most often:
Transaction type and sub-type. When you send goods out, choose Outward with the sub-type Job Work. When goods come back and the principal is the one generating, choose Inward with the sub-type Job Work Returns.
Document type. Delivery Challan, not Tax Invoice. No sale has happened, and an invoice here records a supply that never took place.
Document number and date. They must match the challan exactly. The portal will not generate an e-way bill on a document dated more than 180 days back, which catches returns from long processing cycles.
HSN, quantity and value. Use the HSN of the goods being moved and the value stated on the challan. The value cannot be zero just because nothing is being sold.
Consignee details. The job worker’s GSTIN, or URP (unregistered person) with his address and State if he has no registration.
Part B. Vehicle number, or the transporter ID if the transporter will update the vehicle later.
Rule 55 sets out what the challan itself must show: a serial number of up to 16 characters, date, GSTINs, HSN, description, quantity, taxable value and place of supply. It is prepared in triplicate: original for the consignee, duplicate for the transporter, triplicate for the consigner. Our guide on when you need a delivery challan under Rule 55 covers the format in detail.
A worked example: one trader, two job workers
Say you run a grey-fabric trading firm on Ring Road, Surat. In one week you send fabric out to two job workers.
Consignment 1, dyeing house in Sachin GIDC (same State). 2,400 metres at ₹62 a metre = ₹1,48,800. This is above ₹50,000, so an e-way bill is needed unless Gujarat’s current intra-State notification exempts it. The distance is about 20 km. E-way bill validity is one day for every 200 km or part of it, so this one is valid for one day.
Consignment 2, embroidery unit in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra (different State). 600 metres at ₹62 = ₹37,200. Below ₹50,000, but this is inter-State job work, so the e-way bill is compulsory. Distance is roughly 280 km. 280 divided by 200 is 1.4, and any part of 200 km counts as a full day, so validity is two days.
The return from Bhiwandi. The embroidery unit charges ₹18 a metre: 600 × ₹18 = ₹10,800 plus GST on its service. The truck carries your ₹37,200 of fabric, now embroidered, and the job worker’s invoice for ₹10,800 plus tax.
What value goes on the return e-way bill? There are two views. A GSTAT bench in Thiruvananthapuram recently held that when a job worker returns the principal’s goods, the taxable supply is the job work service, so the e-way bill need not include the value of the principal’s own goods. In that case the department had levied a penalty of ₹2,50,884 under Section 129 because the return e-way bill showed only the job work charges, and the tribunal disagreed with the department. The more cautious approach is to declare the fabric value and the charges together: ₹37,200 + ₹10,800 = ₹48,000, plus the tax on the job work. Either way, send the original challan copy back with the goods. One tribunal order is persuasive, not binding on every officer at every checkpost, and the paperwork is what settles a dispute on the spot.
Does the return trip from the job worker need an e-way bill?
Read strictly, the irrespective-of-value proviso speaks of goods sent by a principal to a job worker. The return leg falls back on the normal ₹50,000 test. In the example above, the return is below that line on either valuation, so an e-way bill may not be legally required.
We still advise generating one for inter-State returns. A truck crossing a State border with ₹48,000 of goods and no e-way bill invites a stop, and arguing the proviso by the roadside takes longer than generating the bill. When the job worker is registered he generates it; when he is not, you do, as an inward movement with the sub-type Job Work Returns.
What if goods go straight from your supplier or between job workers?
Section 143 of the CGST Act lets you send inputs and capital goods to a job worker without first bringing them to your own premises. Two common cases:
Supplier ships directly to the job worker. The supplier raises a tax invoice on you, shows the job worker’s address as the ship-to place, and generates the e-way bill for that supply. You take ITC on the invoice as usual. The date the job worker receives the goods is the date your job work clock starts.
Job worker to job worker. Fabric often goes from a dyer to a printer before it comes home. CBIC’s job work circular (No. 38/12/2018) allows the challan for this movement to be issued by the principal or by the first job worker. The e-way bill follows the challan: the sending job worker generates it if registered, otherwise you do.
Finished goods can also be supplied straight from a job worker’s premises to your customer. You raise the invoice and the e-way bill. This is allowed when the job worker is registered, or when you have declared his premises as an additional place of business.
How long can goods stay with a job worker?
The e-way bill only covers the journey. The longer clock is in Section 143. Inputs must come back within one year and capital goods within three years of being sent out. If they don’t, the law treats them as supplied by you to the job worker on the day they were sent, and you owe tax with interest from that date. Moulds, dies, jigs, fixtures and tools sent for job work are outside these time limits.
So every challan should be traceable to its return. The same challans feed Form ITC-04, which principals file half-yearly (by 25 October and 25 April) when aggregate turnover is above ₹5 crore, and once a year by 25 April otherwise. If you cannot match an outward challan to a return, the problem will surface in ITC-04 first. More on this in our post on GST, ITC and job work for textile traders.
Common mistakes that get job work consignments detained
No e-way bill on a small inter-State consignment because “it’s under ₹50,000”.
Tax invoice used as the document type, so the movement looks like a sale.
Zero or token value on the challan and e-way bill.
Vehicle changed mid-route without updating Part B.
E-way bill expired because a 280 km trip was given one day of validity.
Return consignment travelling without the original challan copy.
Detention under Section 129 means paying a penalty before release. One more point on the portal: enhancements to the e-way bill system that were announced for 1 August 2026 have been put on hold by GSTN, and the existing rules, including two-factor login, the 180-day document limit and the 360-day cap on extensions, continue. Check the official e-way bill portal for any new advisory before changing your process.
Where hisabkitab fits in
Most job work e-way bill errors are retyping errors: an HSN keyed in wrongly, a value that differs from the challan, the wrong GSTIN. hisabkitab’s e-way bill software generates the e-way bill from the entry already in your books, so the details on the portal match the details in your accounts. If you run more than one godown or branch, multi-location accounting keeps stock at each location separate, which makes it easier to see what has left and what has come back.
Frequently asked questions
Is an e-way bill required for job work below ₹50,000?
For inter-State job work, yes. The principal or registered job worker must generate it irrespective of value. For job work within a State, it is needed only above ₹50,000 or your State’s notified limit.
Who generates the e-way bill if the job worker is not registered?
The principal. An unregistered job worker has no GSTIN to generate one, so the principal generates the e-way bill for both the outward and the return movement.
Which document type do I select for job work?
Delivery Challan. Select Outward with sub-type Job Work when sending goods, and Inward with sub-type Job Work Returns when the principal generates the bill for goods coming back.
What value should I show on a job work e-way bill?
On the outward leg, the value of the goods as stated on the delivery challan. On the return leg, a GSTAT bench has held that only the job work charges and tax need be shown, though many businesses declare the goods value as well to avoid disputes.
What happens if inputs are not returned from the job worker within one year?
They are treated as supplied by the principal to the job worker on the date they were originally sent. The principal pays GST on that deemed supply with interest. Capital goods get three years, and moulds, dies, jigs and tools have no time limit.
Start a free trial to generate e-way bills from your own entries, or compare plans to find the right fit for your business.
