A labour-only AMC, also called non-comprehensive, is the cheaper form of maintenance contract. The fee covers preventive visits, inspection, cleaning and the technician's time for breakdown repairs. If a fan motor, thermostat, gasket or compressor needs replacing, the owner pays for the part, usually after approving a quote.
This suits owners with newer or simpler equipment, a small number of units, or those willing to carry some repair risk in exchange for a lower fixed fee. Key questions are whether parts will be genuine and how they are priced, whether there is a cap on labour per visit, the guaranteed response time, and whether refrigerant top-ups count as labour or parts.
A small café in Pune with one reach-in, one undercounter and a visi cooler, all less than three years old, might choose a labour-only AMC that guarantees quarterly condenser cleaning and priority call-outs, and accept that any part failures will be billed separately.