Section 17(5)(c): Works Contract Services for Construction

Section 17 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.

Every construction project has a chain: owner, main contractor, sub-contractor, sub-sub-contractor. Clause (c) decides where the credit stops.

Credit is blocked on works contract services when supplied for construction of an immovable property (other than plant and machinery), except where it is an input service for further supply of works contract service. So credit flows freely along the contracting chain — each contractor takes credit on its sub-contractors, because each is using the input service for a further supply of works contract service. It stops at the owner, who is not supplying works contract service to anyone.

The structure

Blocked: works contract services supplied for construction of an immovable property.

Two carve-outs:

"Other than plant and machinery." Works contract services for construction of plant and machinery are not blocked. The Explanation to Chapter V defines plant and machinery narrowly. The plant and machinery definition →

"Except where it is an input service for further supply of works contract service." The chain exception.

The chain exception, worked

A developer engages a main contractor for ₹100 crore. The main contractor engages a civil sub-contractor for ₹60 crore and an MEP sub-contractor for ₹25 crore. The MEP sub-contractor engages a HVAC specialist for ₹8 crore.

The developer's position depends on what it supplies. If it sells units under construction, it is supplying construction service under Schedule II paragraph 5(b) — which is not "works contract service" — and the real estate credit regime applies through the specific rate notification. If it retains and lets the building, it is supplying renting, and clause (d) blocks the credit on its own construction. Section 17(5)(d): construction on own account →

"Works contract service" is a defined term

The exception speaks of "further supply of works contract service", and works contract is defined in s.2(119): a contract for building, construction, fabrication, completion, erection, installation, fitting out, improvement, modification, repair, maintenance, renovation, alteration or commissioning of any immovable property wherein transfer of property in goods is involved in the execution.

Two consequences:

The onward supply must itself be a works contract service. A contractor who supplies pure labour, or pure design services, is not making a further supply of works contract service — the exception on its terms does not apply, though the input may not be a works contract service either.

Immovable property is the gate. A contract relating to movable property is not a works contract at all, so clause (c) does not block it and the exception is not needed. Works contract classification →

The plant and machinery carve-out

Works contract services for construction of plant and machinery are outside the block.

The Explanation defines plant and machinery as apparatus, equipment and machinery fixed to earth by foundation or structural support used for making outward supply, including such foundation and structural supports, but excluding:

• land, building or any other civil structures;
• telecommunication towers; and
• pipelines laid outside the factory premises.

So the erection of a production line, including its foundation and structural support, is creditable. The factory building housing it is not. A telecom tower is expressly excluded, whatever it looks like. A pipeline within the factory is plant and machinery; the same pipeline outside the premises is not.

That inside-outside line for pipelines is arbitrary on its face and is applied literally.

Practical notes

• Split the contract at award. A single EPC contract covering the building and the plant should identify the plant and machinery scope and value separately, so the creditable portion is evidenced.
• A contractor's credit is safe so long as it is making a further supply of works contract service. Keep the onward contract on file.
• Capitalisation matters for clause (d), not clause (c). Clause (c) blocks the works contract service regardless of accounting treatment; Explanation 1 to clauses (c) and (d) brings repairs and renovations in to the extent of capitalisation. To the extent of capitalisation →
• Do not confuse clause (c) with clause (d). Clause (c) blocks works contract services received; clause (d) blocks goods or services received for construction on own account. A developer doing its own construction with directly procured materials is in clause (d), not (c).

Key takeaways

• Clause (c) blocks works contract services for construction of immovable property.
• Plant and machinery is carved out, on the Explanation's narrow definition.
• The chain exception — input service for further supply of works contract service — keeps credit flowing between contractors.
• Credit stops at the person who does not supply works contract service onward.
• Telecom towers and pipelines outside factory premises are expressly excluded from plant and machinery.
• Clause (c) covers services received; clause (d) covers own-account construction.

Read next

• Section 17(5)(d): Construction on Own Account
• The Plant and Machinery Definition
• Works Contract: Why It Is Not a Composite Supply Question
• ITC on Construction and Real Estate: Restricted Credit

Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on the CGST Act as amended to 31 March 2026 (ICAI Bare Law, 12th edition) and the ICAI Handbook on Blocked Credit under GST (November 2025).