Home buyers in Mumbai have nothing to cheers over eased premium payment on FSI

Recent relaxation in payment of premium towards fungible FSI by various authorities though will reduce the financial burden on developers and thus lead to a lot of inventory getting freed for sale, this will not lead to price reduction for home-buyers, say industry experts. Fungible FSI was first introduced by the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 2012 to bring in added transparency towards usage and development of free FSI. Recently, the state administration, the BMC and the Slum Rehabilitation Authority had relaxed the payment premium on complementary FSI, to ease financial burden on developers and encouraging them to complete their projects in time. According to 35 (4) of DC rules,fungible complementary FSI, not exceeding 35 per cent for residential and 20 per cent for industrial/commercial development over and above the total FSI, is permissible by charging a premium. The premium is 60 per cent, 80 per cent and 100 per cent of stamp duty as per the ready-reckoner rate for residential, industrial and commercial development, respectively. One-third part of the premium is payable to the state and remaining to the BMC.