How Much Does a Genset AMC Actually Cost in India?

"How much does an AMC cost" is one of the most common questions we get, and it doesn't have a single answer — because two contracts quoted for the same genset can cover completely different things.

A dealer quoting ₹8,000/year and one quoting ₹22,000/year for the same 62.5 kVA set aren't necessarily overcharging or lowballing each other — they may be selling different products. Before comparing price, find out what tier each quote actually is.

• Labour-only. Covers scheduled technician visits and diagnostic time. Consumables (oil, filters, coolant) and any replacement parts are billed separately, either at cost or a marked-up rate. Cheaper on paper, less predictable over a year.
• Comprehensive. Bundles routine consumables into the annual fee, and often includes a capped allowance toward common wear items (belts, hoses, batteries at end of life). Costs more upfront, but you're not getting a surprise invoice every time the set needs oil.

Neither is objectively better — a low-usage backup set for occasional outages may not justify comprehensive coverage, while a set running daily in a commercial building probably should have it.

• Visit frequency. Most standard contracts run 4 visits/year (roughly quarterly, or tied to running-hours thresholds); some low-usage residential contracts drop to 2.
• kVA rating and cylinder count. Bigger engines take more oil and more labour time per visit — a real but secondary factor.
• Parts and brand availability. A brand with a thin dealer network in your city costs more to service — technician travel time and parts logistics show up in the quote.
• Age of the set. Older sets outside original warranty windows sometimes carry a slight premium, since more can go wrong and there's more diagnostic time involved.
• Load-bank testing. A contract that actually runs the set under load (not just an unloaded startup check) costs more, and is worth paying for — see our AMC warning signs guide for why an unloaded test misses real failure modes.

For a 15–125 kVA commercial set — the range most SME and mid-size commercial buyers are looking at — comprehensive AMC contracts in most metros land somewhere in the ₹8,000–25,000/year range, with labour-only contracts typically 30-40% below that. Treat this as a sanity-check range, not a quote — get actual numbers from a dealer near you, since city, brand, and set age all move it.

• No mention of load-bank testing, only "startup check."
• Vague or missing exclusions section — if you can't tell what voids the contract, ask before signing.
• Visit frequency below industry norm for your usage pattern (a daily-run commercial set serviced twice a year is a problem waiting to happen).
• A price that's dramatically below every other quote you've gathered for the same coverage tier — this is usually a labour-only contract being pitched as comprehensive, not a genuine bargain.

1. Is this labour-only or comprehensive, and what specifically is included?
2. How many visits per year, and is it calendar-based or running-hours-based?
3. Does a service visit include a load-bank test, or just a startup check?
4. What voids the contract?
5. What's the response time for an emergency (non-scheduled) callout?

An AMC is meant to be the cheapest insurance a genset owner buys — but only if you know what you're actually covered for. Compare quotes on scope first, price second, and find a dealer through our directory if you're starting that comparison from scratch.