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Guide · Business Compliance

Textile Processing and Dyeing: GST, TDS and Cost Rules

GST on job work and the credit that builds up, zero liquid discharge, TDS on processing charges, export rebate schemes, and cost records for processors.

Boovaraghavan & Co., Cost AccountantsOctober 20264 min readChecked: October 2026

In short

Applies to: Dyeing, bleaching, printing, compacting and finishing units, whether doing job work or processing their own fabric

  • A unit that buys dyes and chemicals at 18% and bills job work at 5% builds up input credit.
  • Customers who pay processing charges deduct TDS at 1% or 2% as for a contractor.
  • Knitted fabric and garments are not in the listed headings, and a job worker's processing charge is not a listed product.

This is the reference detail behind our Textile Processing and Dyeing page: GST on job work, zero liquid discharge, and export schemes, and cost records.

Dyeing, bleaching, printing and finishing units in Tiruppur, Erode and Karur mostly work on fabric that belongs to someone else, for a rate per kilogram. The rate has to cover dyes, steam, water, effluent treatment and the batches that come back for reprocessing.

GST on job work, and the credit that builds up

GST for processing units, as of October 2026
Item GST
Job work on textiles: dyeing, bleaching, printing, finishing 5%
Dyes and textile chemicals Generally 18%
Garments and made-ups up to ₹2,500 a piece 5%
Garments and made-ups above ₹2,500 a piece 18%

A unit that buys dyes and chemicals at 18% and bills job work at 5% builds up input credit. A refund under the inverted-rate rule is limited to credit on input goods, and views differ on how it applies to job work, so take advice before making or relying on a claim.

Job-work procedure. The owner of the fabric sends it on a delivery challan without tax. Goods that do not come back within the time limit are treated as a supply. The owner reports the movements in Form ITC-04.

Job-work time limits and Form ITC-04
Item Limit or frequency
Inputs sent for job work Have to come back within one year
Capital goods sent for job work Have to come back within three years
Form ITC-04, where turnover is above ₹5 crore Half-yearly
Form ITC-04, otherwise Yearly

Zero liquid discharge

Dyeing and bleaching units in Tiruppur have had to run with zero liquid discharge since the Madras High Court's orders, and most treat their effluent through common effluent treatment plants. The Pollution Control Board's consent conditions for a unit decide what it must treat and recover. For costing, the point is that treatment is part of the cost of every kilogram processed.

TDS and export schemes

Customers who pay processing charges deduct TDS at 1% or 2% as for a contractor. Match what was deducted with your annual tax statement () each quarter, and investigate missing entries with the deductor before claiming credit under the applicable rules; a reporting mismatch needs correction and evidence.

Garment and made-up exporters claim rebates under the RoSCTL (Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies) and RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products) schemes. Both have been extended in stages by notification: RoSCTL to 30 September 2026 or until its scheme for the next Finance Commission cycle is approved, and RoDTEP to 31 December 2026. Check the current end date before quoting a rebate in a price. A processor's rates are often negotiated against what the exporter earns, so it helps to know the rebate rates.

Cost records and cost audit

The Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules, 2014 list yarn and woven fabrics under textiles. Knitted fabric and garments are not in the listed headings, and a job worker's processing charge is not a listed product. A company that makes listed yarn or fabric is covered once it crosses the turnover limits. The Cost Audit Applicability Checker works through the tests. The cost audit page sets out the limits, forms and dates.

Before relying on this article

The law this article follows: GST as amended from 22 September 2025, the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules, 2014.

Rates and limits change with each Finance Act and GST notification.

This article is a summary for planning, not advice for a particular unit. Refund of accumulated credit in particular depends on the facts and on how the rule is applied.

Sources

This article is for general information only and does not constitute professional advice. Please consult a qualified professional before acting on it.

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