Indivisible works contracts with substantial civil construction qualify for composition scheme benefits under civil works coverage.

An indivisible works contract that combines installation of plant or machinery with substantial civil construction remains a civil works contract where the project cannot be completed without integrated drainage, sewerage, foundation, RCC and allied construction. The composition scheme was framed for civil contracts of wide amplitude, not merely for building construction, and its scope covered such works. Applying that construction, the contracts for waste water treatment and sewage treatment plants were treated as civil works rather than mere fabrication and installation, and the petitioner was held entitled to the benefit of the composition scheme for both contracts.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to the benefit of the composition scheme in respect of its indivisible works contracts for installation of waste water treatment and sewage treatment plants.

Analysis: The composition scheme was framed for indivisible civil contracts and its scope was not confined to mere building construction. The expression used in the scheme and the schedule covered civil works of wide amplitude, including works involving drainage, sewerage, foundations, RCC work, walls, roofs, and allied civil construction. The contracts in question required extensive civil works and installation of machinery as integral and inextricable parts of the same projects. Since the plants could not be completed without substantial civil construction, the contracts could not be treated as mere fabrication and installation of plant and machinery.

Conclusion: The petitioner was entitled to the benefit of the composition scheme for both contracts.

Ratio Decidendi: A contract remains an indivisible civil contract where installation of plant or machinery is inseparably combined with substantial civil construction necessary for completion of the project, and such a contract falls within a composition scheme framed for civil works.

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