Most disputes in interior projects are not about design. They are about money that moved before value did. A payment schedule is the one part of an interiors contract that protects you continuously, from the first advance to the final snag.
What a healthy payment schedule looks like
Payments should be tied to things you can see, not to dates on a calendar. A structure that works for both sides on a turnkey project:
- 10% on design commencement. Covers site study, drawings and 3D visualisation. If you walk away here, you should be able to keep the drawings you paid for — confirm that in writing.
- 30 to 35% on design freeze and order placement. This is the largest single payment, and it should be the one that releases factory production and material procurement. It should never be due before the design is frozen.
- 25 to 30% on material delivery to site. Payable when material is physically at your flat, not when it leaves a factory.
- 20 to 25% on installation. As joinery goes up.
- 5 to 10% on handover, after snag closure. This is the most important line in the schedule. A retention that is released only after the snag list is closed is what gets the last 5% of a project finished.
The warning signs
- More than 45% collected before anything reaches site. You are financing the project rather than buying it.
- No retention at handover. Without it, the final snags take months.
- Payments due on dates rather than milestones. You end up paying on schedule for work that is behind schedule.
- Cash requests outside the invoice. No tax invoice means no warranty claim, no GST credit, and no evidence in a dispute.
GST on interior work
Interior work is not taxed as one thing, which is why quotations look different from each other.
- A composite works contract — design, material and execution supplied together as one turnkey scope — is generally billed at 18%.
- Professional design fees billed separately are generally 18%.
- Goods bought directly by you — modular furniture, appliances, sanitaryware, lighting — carry their own individual rates, which differ by item.
- Pure labour engaged directly may fall outside GST if the contractor is below the registration threshold. That is not a saving to chase: it usually means no invoice, no warranty and no recourse.
Rates and classifications change. Ask your designer to state the applicable rate on the quotation and confirm it with your own CA before signing — this article is general information, not tax advice.
The one question to ask about every quotation
Is this inclusive or exclusive of GST? On a ₹15 lakh project, 18% is ₹2.7 lakh. Two quotations that look ₹2 lakh apart are often identical once you resolve this, and comparing an inclusive quote against an exclusive one is the most common costing mistake homeowners make.
Clauses worth insisting on
- A written change-order process. Any addition or change is priced, dated and approved in writing before it is executed. This single clause prevents most budget disputes.
- A named exclusions list. What is not in the scope, stated explicitly.
- Material specification by brand and series, so substitution is visible.
- A delay clause that works both ways, with client-caused delays defined as clearly as contractor-caused ones.
- Retention against snag closure, with a stated rectification window.
- Warranty terms attached to the contract, not promised verbally.
Practical protections
Pay by bank transfer against a tax invoice, every time. Keep the approved quotation, drawings and material list together as one signed set. Photograph material as it arrives and check the brand against your specification. And keep a written record of every scope change, even a small one agreed on a phone call — a one-line message confirming it is enough.
Our estimates are itemised line by line before any advance, with material named by brand and series and a written change-order process, which is why our projects finish close to the number we opened with. Payment stages and process questions are answered on our FAQ page, our cover after handover is set out on the warranty page, and you can bring any quotation — including one that is not ours — to a free consultation and we will read it with you.
This article is general information about how interior contracts are commonly structured in India. It is not legal or tax advice; confirm current GST rates and contract terms with your own professional advisers.
