Why FMTTI Testing Fees Differ by Institute
If you've compared fee figures for FMTTI testing and found two different numbers for what looks like the same machine, you haven't found an error. You've found two different documents, each covering a different scope.
The general fee schedule
The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare issues a general testing fee schedule covering most machinery categories. The current one (effective 01.04.2025 for FY 2025-26) sets per-category rates like this:
| Category | Charge (excl. GST) |
|---|---|
| Components / Hand tools | ₹30,514 |
| Power-operated thresher, decorticator, sheller, winnower, brush cutter, chain saw, chaff cutter etc. | ₹1,21,961 |
| Animal-drawn equipment | ₹65,059 |
| Tractor drawn/operated implements: rotavator, cultivator, harrow, plough etc. | ₹2,07,357 |
| Manually operated equipment | ₹45,922 |
| Power tiller-drawn/self-propelled reaper, power weeder etc. | ₹1,21,961 |
| Tractor drawn/operated seed-cum-fertilizer drill, straw reaper, mini rice mill, seed cleaner/grader, baler, laser land leveller, potato digger etc. | ₹2,17,502 |
| Animal-drawn multi tool bar (min. 4 attachments) | ₹1,72,771 |
| Self-propelled paddy/vegetable transplanter | ₹2,96,783 |
| Ride-on self-propelled tool bar (up to 2 attachments) | ₹2,96,783 |
| Power-operated multi-crop thresher (2+ crops) | ₹2,23,616 |
| Pump set (engine + pump), kerosene/LPG | ₹1,06,930 |
| Pump set without engine | ₹50,783 |
| Plant protection equipment — manual/battery operated | ₹69,732 |
| Plant protection equipment — power operated | ₹1,83,102 |
All figures exclude 18% GST, which is charged on top. This schedule is revised roughly every two years — the current version was an 8% revision, with the next expected around 01.04.2027, subject to review — and it's issued to both FMTTIs and FMTCs (Farm Machinery Training Centres).
Where power tillers break the pattern
Notice the general schedule doesn't have a clean "power tiller" line — the closest match is the power-tiller-drawn implement category at ₹1,21,961. That's because power tillers are also covered by a separate, dedicated mandatory-test circular issued under a different Ministry office order, and that circular carries its own institute-signed rate card.
SRFMTTI's own revised charges under that mandatory-test circular, effective 01.04.2026, break the power tiller Initial Commercial Test down test-by-test:
| Test component | Charge |
|---|---|
| Specification / Initial Inspection | ₹22,693 |
| Running-in (20 hours) | ₹76,888 |
| Rotary Performance Test | ₹23,562 |
| Brake Performance Test | ₹5,339 |
| Drawbar Performance Test | ₹25,579 |
| Noise Level Test | ₹9,066 |
| Turning Ability Test | ₹3,442 |
| Nominal Speed Test | ₹3,661 |
| Haulage Test | ₹17,517 |
| Field Test | ₹1,09,235 |
| Torture Test | ₹7,229 |
| Material Test & Chemical Composition | ₹9,735 |
| Miscellaneous charges | ₹93,531 |
Added up, that's ₹4,07,478 with running-in, or ₹3,30,590 without it — well above the ₹1,21,961 figure on the general schedule. Both numbers are real. They just answer different questions: one is a generic per-category placeholder rate, the other is the full, itemised mandatory test cost specific to power tillers at one institute, under one circular.
Why this matters when you budget
Two institutes quoting different fees for what sounds like the same test usually means one of them is applying the mandatory-test circular rate and the other is quoting off the general schedule — or the machine falls into a category where only one of the two documents actually applies. Since these documents get revised on different timelines and are signed off institute-by-institute, the safest approach is to always confirm which schedule and which circular apply to your specific machine category before you commit a budget number.
What AgPro does here
AgPro Consulting doesn't set these fees and doesn't conduct any testing — FMTTI's own engineers run every test, at the government institute. What AgPro does is guide manufacturers, dealers and buyers through figuring out which fee schedule and which circular actually apply to their machine, and liaises with the relevant institute to confirm the exact, current figure before you apply.