Surat is one of India’s largest man-made textile hubs, and textile GST has quirks no generic accountant handles well: a supply chain that runs from yarn to fabric to garment at different rates, job work taxed at a concessional 5%, an inverted duty structure that traps credit, and heavy exports that are best routed through an LUT.
The textile supply chain and its rates
Textiles move through several hands — spinning, weaving, processing, embroidery, stitching — and the GST treatment differs along the chain. Fabric and made-ups generally sit at 5%, garments are rated by value, and man-made fibre and yarn have historically been taxed higher than the fabric they become. That mismatch is the source of the sector’s biggest GST issue: accumulated input credit.
Job work at 5%
Surat’s textile economy runs on job work — a trader sends grey cloth out for dyeing, printing or embroidery and gets it back. Job-work services in relation to textiles and textile products are taxed at a concessional 5%. Tracking these movements on the correct job-work challans, and returning goods within the prescribed period, keeps the chain compliant and the credit intact. We set up your job-work documentation for the volume Surat operates at.
Inverted duty and export refunds
Because inputs like man-made yarn can be taxed higher than the fabric output, textile units accumulate unused ITC — the classic inverted duty structure — which is refundable. Separately, textile exporters ship under LUT (zero-rated) and can claim refunds of input credit. Between these two, a Surat textile business often has significant refunds sitting unclaimed. We identify the eligible amount and file the refund so your capital comes back.