diff --git a/make/rpmdist.mk b/make/rpmdist.mk
index f1a09257..530950d2 100644
--- a/make/rpmdist.mk
+++ b/make/rpmdist.mk
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+ifneq ($(PROJECT_DESCR_FILE),)
+ifeq ($(shell grep "^ *subpackages *=.*devel" $(PROJECT_DESCR_FILE)),)
+CREATE_DEVEL              = false
+endif
+endif
+
 CREATE_DEVEL             ?= true
 UPLOAD_SH                 = $(MOD_SCRIPT_DIR)/upload.sh
 RPM_PROJECT              ?= $(FLAVOUR_PREFIX)$(PROJECT)