The WBRERA’s order simply awards interest “at the prime lending rate of SBI plus 2%”. A phrase that sounds precise, but leaves the real question unanswered. A recent ruling from the West Bengal Real Estate Appellate Tribunal shows that the phrase left more unanswered than it seemed to and settles, for West Bengal at least, which SBI rate applies.
In Amitava Samanta v. Saswati Ghosh & Anr., (WBREAT/APPEAL/No.017/2025- dated 16.10.2025) a homebuyer couple had sought refund from the Shantiniketan bungalow project waited years to get their money back. The wait was even longer to agree on how much interest they were owed. The developer had refunded the principal, but the two sides couldn’t agree on the interest. As West Bengal’s RERA Rules never spelled out which SBI benchmark rate applies. The Tribunal stepped in, filled the gap, and in doing so gave developers and homebuyers across the state a clear formula to use going forward.
Here’s what happened, how the Tribunal reasoned its way to an answer, and what it means in practice.
THE BACKGROUND
The West Bengal Real Estate Regulatory Authority (“the Authority”) in September 2023 ordered the developer to refund the Rs 7,09,000 plus interest “at SBI PLR + 2% per annum”, to be paid within 45 days. The developer paid back the principal in July 2023 but not the interest. Aggrieved, the buyers went back to the Authority to enforce the order. The Authority simply forwarded the file to the District Magistrate for recovery, without ever resolving the underlying disagreement. That referral is what the developer appealed.
DISPUE- TWO SEPARATE WAY OF INTEREST CALCULATION
The question was not whether interest was owned, it was entirely about how much. The buyers calculated interest applying SBI's Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR) — a figure published on SBI's website, quoted at 14.85% as of March 2023 plus the Rules' statutory 2%, giving them 16.85%. They applied it on the refund amount Rs 7,09,000, for one continuous period from February 2016 to July 2023..
The developers however, negated this rate and calculation and argued that the BPLR is the legacy rate used for loan and they cannot be applied for rera calculations. They urged that the correct parameter, was SBI's Marginal Cost of Lending Rate (MCLR).
WHAT THE RULE SAYS AND THE OBSERVATIONS OF THE TRIBUNAL
The issue aroused as the Rule 17 of the West Bengal Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2021 fixes the rate of interest payable under Sections 12, 14, 18, and 19 of the RERA Act, whether by the promoter to the allottee or vice versa at "the prime lending rate of State Bank of India plus two per cent." It doesn't specify which SBI benchmark that prime lending rate refers to.
The Tribunal took into consideration the ambiguity of Rule 17 and found the answers analyzing the provisions followed and drafted across states ( e.g Maharshtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, etc.). It also leaned on hon’ble Supreme Court decision in Bikram Chatterji v. Union of India, and held that “prime lending rate of SBI” means MCLR.
Another question before the court was calculation of period as MCLR didn’t exist before April 2016, so it can’t be applied to the buyers’ earlier payments. Also, the buyers had run their interest as one lump sum from a single date.
Rule 18 of the West Bengal Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2021 speaks of timelines for refund. Rule 18 provides that any refund of monies along with the applicable interest payable by the promoter in terms of the Act or the rules and regulations made thereunder, shall be payable by the promoter to the allottee within forty-five days “from the date on which such refund along with applicable interest and compensation, if any, becomes due.
The Tribunal observed this as interest accrues from each payment date individually, not from one lump date. The Court rejected the lumpsum calculation and alongwith the readings of Rule 18 and relying upon Bikram Chatterji v. Union of India, and adopted the ladder of predecessor rates used by the Supreme Court.
Adopting the correct method made a difference to the final figure, the numbers came out substantially lower than the buyers' flat calculation. Getting the benchmark right mattered.
The appeal succeeded. The Tribunal set aside the order sending the case to the District Magistrate for recovery, and closed out the execution proceeding on these terms.
The Tribunal also flagged the bigger picture: Rule 17 itself needs fixing. It directed a copy of the judgment to be sent to the Housing Department, Government of West Bengal, recommending that the Rule be amended to spell out MCLR (or whichever benchmark SBI uses going forward) in black and white so the next dispute over what “SBI prime lending rate” means doesn’t have to be litigated all the way to the Tribunal.
The Tribunal holds that “Prime Lending Rate of SBI” in Rule 17 of the West Bengal Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2021 must mean MCLR (Marginal Cost of Lending Rate), not BPLR (Benchmark Prime Lending Rate), and that the rate is to be applied as MCLR + 2% from 01‑04‑2016, with base rate (or older benchmarks) for periods before that.