Wasn’t it love at first sight with that garden-facing home with perfect vastu? After all, who doesn’t want a home with a spectacular view? But did you know that owning a home with a perfect view can burn a deeper hole in your pocket? If you haven’t guessed it yet, we are talking about the preferential location charges (PLC).
So, what is a PLC?
As the name suggests, it is an additional cost that a homebuyer has to pay to book a unit of his preference. All the units in a residential project that have some view or are vastu-compliant are charged a PLC at per sq.ft. rate. Even the corner units are charged extra.
In fact, the floor rise premium is also a part of PLC. Thus, usually, higher floors have a higher floor rise charges. However, due to climatic and geographical conditions, these charges may vary. For instance, in NCR, floor premium is higher for lower floor units due to hot climate. On the contrary, in Bangalore, the floor rise premium is more as one goes higher up.
How to calculate PLC?
PLC is charged per sq.ft. on the super built-up area of your apartment. Thus, you can calculate PLC by multiplying the super built-up area of the apartment with the rate specified in the project’s cost sheet. PLC usually varies from Rs 40-150 per sq. ft.
Are there any standard guidelines?
Unfortunately, there are no standard rules or guidelines that govern PLC. In fact, every developer and project have a different PLC depending on the project budget and location.
Is PLC taxable?
In the judgement delivered by the High Court in 2016, a new clause was introduced. As per 65(105), “taxable service means any service provided or to be provided to a buyer, by a builder of a residential complex, or a commercial complex, or any other person authorised by such builder, for providing preferential location or development of such complex but does not include services covered under sub-clauses, and in relation to parking place.”
Thus, it is indeed taxable.
Can there be a discount on PLC?
[bctt tweet=”With unsold inventory rising, developers are offering discounts to sell off their existing inventories. Also, investing in early-stages of construction might get you a better deal.” username=”RoofnFloor”]Word of caution!
So, next time you come across big hoardings reading ‘park facing’ or ‘corner facing,’ remember that everything comes at an additional cost. Also, whenever you are visiting a project site, make sure to check the PLC specified by the developer on the cost sheet.
