Budget 2013-14 Proposes Rs.1L Deduction to First-Home Buyers

With the Rs.1 lakh deduction on interest rates on home loans up to Rs.25 lakh, the first time home buyers alone may benefit from the Budget 2013-14 which was presented in the parliament on Feb 28.
Budget 2013-14 will help the first time home buyers

Budget 2013-14 will help the first time home buyers

The much awaited Budget 2013-14 was presented in the parliament by the finance minister on Feb 28. This year the budget did not have many sops to the real estate sector as a whole.

However real estate sector will benefit from the budget as it includes deduction of interest in the home loans by the first-home buyers. Those who plan to buy home for the first time can gain tax exemption and deduction in the interest rates up to Rs.1 lakh.

This will have more effect on the middle income class and so the buyers of this class will have a reason to be happier. Continue reading

Budget 2013 -2014: An Overall Review

Budget 2013 -14 was awaited with lots of expectations and hopes. The budget, announced by the Finance minister today, was received with mixed feeling by the common population.
P Chidambaram announced the Budget 2013.

P Chidambaram announced the Budget 2013.

Finance Minister announced the Budget 2013 today. This is his eighth finance budget and the first one after returning to the Finance Ministry, as its head last year. The budget slightly slapped the top-earners by imposing overload on their shoulders. Many of the luxury items will become costlier while a few common goods will become cheaper.

Foreseeing the 2014 general election, the Finance Minister remained highly keen to offer some sops to the tax payers (income).  On the other hand; by raising the duties on luxury and imported vehicles, mobile phones and cigarettes, the finance minister slapped the ‘ultra-rich’ millionaires of the country.

Tax Proposals in the Budget 2013 -14

The budget proposed to raise an additional Rs.18,000 Cr in the form of  tax. However the budget has not made any changes in any of the tax-slabs. Mr. Chidambaram gave a tax benefit of Rs.2000 to all the individual tax payers with income up to Rs.5 lakh.

As there is no alteration and revision of slabs the income payers will have to pay as per the existing slabs. As per the existing rates an individual with income between Rs.2 to Rs.5L will have to pay 10%. In the same way, those with above Rs.5L will have to pay 20% and those above Rs.10L will have to pay 30%. Continue reading

Budget 2013 to Give Hopes to Home Buyers

Budget 2013 is expected to offer some hopes to the home buyers as finance minister has signaled some special provisions for the affordable housing segment.
Budget 2013 to boost affordable housing

Budget 2013 likely to boost affordable housing.

Budget 2013 is expected to be a real estate- friendly budget as there will be some special provisions to boost the housing segment in the country. Union finance minister P Chidambaram has already hinted that the government has plans to confer infrastructure status at least to the affordable housing segment.

Demands of the realtors are many and may have an end for any of them. They seek tax exemptions, lower interest rates for their loans, lowering the cost of finance for construction sector, and so many others. Some of them demand Single –window clearance for speedy approvals.

Besides all the above said demands, realty players have recently asked for infrastructure status to the entire real estate sector as it would enable them to attain some tax benefits. Continue reading

Real Estate Sector Wants FM To Lower Costs Of Finance

Real estate players of India hope that Finance Minister’s upcoming budget will bring down the costs of finance for the construction sector. Finance minister is likely to announce new Budget which is expected to boost the real estate sector on February 28.
real estate sector wants Financial Minister to lower the financial costs.

Real estate sector wants Financial Minister to lower the financial costs.

Real estate developers expect that the new budget which the Finance minister of India will announce on February 28 will contain provisions to boost the real estate sector. Builders and other realty players expect the cost of finance for the construction will be brought down by the new budget. They demanded that it will be enabling them to provide housing units at lower costs.

Real estate developers are also hopeful of faster clearance for their projects. Many at a time, the delay takes place due to the longer time taken for gaining the clearance. The delay in gaining clearances leads to delayed deliveries. Further the cost also gets accelerated in meantime, developers claimed. All these affect home buyers onto whose shoulders the additional cost is loaded. Continue reading

Real Estate Sops can’t impress Firms.

The finance minister relaxed borrowing norms for real estate firms and extended the loan subsidy for low-cost affordable houses. The concessions have, however, failed to impress the industry leaders who termed it as a too-little-too late move that would have a limited impact on the sector.

“I propose to allow ECB (external commercial borrowing) for low-cost affordable housing projects,“ the Budget said.

The move has a dual aim of expanding the window of funds for real estate developers such that affordable housing projects do not face cash crunch and are completed within the time frame.

Global consultancy Deloitte said RBI had earlier allowed ECB for developers in integrated township projects of 100 acres or more till December 31, 2010.

The FM also extended, by a year, the 1% interest subsidy on loans up to R15 lakh where the cost of house does not exceed R25 lakh.

Realty Sector in Disappointment

The Union Budget 2012-13 on Friday proposed allowing external commercial borrowing for low cost affordable housing projects.

Presenting the Budget in the Lok Sabha, the Finance Minister, Mr Pranabh Mukherjee, also proposed setting up of a Credit Guarantee Trust Fund to ensure better flow of institutional credit for housing loans.

The Minister also proposed to enhance provisions under Rural Housing Fund from Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 4,000 crore besides extending the scheme of interest subvention of 1 per cent on housing loan up to Rs 15 lakh where the cost of the house does not exceed Rs 25 lakh, for another year.

Meanwhile, real estate players were disappointed with the Budget saying it failed to highlight the role of the housing sector in the economy.

“The proposal of bringing in an umbrella tax structure to the cement industry will increase the cost of housing and will negate the development process. Also providing ECB to affordable housing is a minor respite to the sector. There is an inherent risk of liquidity drying up wherein the exemption of capital gains tax to invest in small and medium enterprises may result in cash out from real estate,” Mr Lalit Jain, President, CREDAI, the industry body of real estate players, said.

The sector also said that the increase in service tax will increase the cost of construction by Rs 50-100 per sq feet.

According to Mr Anurag Mathur, Managing Director, Cushman & Wakefield India, “The increase in allocation in infrastructure implies a clear intent on enhancing the urbanisation process as well as providing a support to the slowing industrial sector. At the same time the increase in the service tax from 10 per cent to 12 per cent would lead to additional burden on the tenants as the service tax on rentals has remained unchanged.”

Builders say that Pranab Mukherjee has ignored ground realty in the Union Budget 2012-13.

With predicting an escalation in property prices, top players in the realty sector said they had been ignored by the finance minister.

Chief of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI), Lalit Kumar Jain, said the announcement on external commercial borrowings (ECB) for affordable housing was a minor respite but still meaningless. Jain, who is also chairman and managing director of Kumar Urban Development Ltd, added, “We contribute 6.5% to the GDP and expected a big boost from the budget for affordable housing through special schemes, an interest subvention of 5-7 % for LIG (low income group) and EWS (economically weaker section) housing and promotion of rental housing through tax exemption.”

Jain also pointed out that the interest subsidy on home loans was too low. The Budget has extended the scheme of interest subvention of 1% on housing loan up to Rs 15 lakh where the cost of the house does not exceed Rs 25 lakh for another year.

In addition, Gaurav Gupta, director, Omkar Realtors & Developers, lamented that the realty sector had got nothing to boost market and customer sentiments. “There are no indications of this sector being granted the status of an industry, which it much deserves. On the contrary, the increase in service tax will push up realty prices as the additional cost will be passed on to the buyers.”

Tata Housing MD and CEO Brotin Banerjee added, “Initiatives to make affordable housing available to a larger section of the society have only been met partially.”

There were some who welcomed the proposals. Sachin Sandhir, MD, RICS South Asia felt it “exceeded expectations” given the pressures on the fiscal situation.

Realty Sector has no resurgence.

The latest Economic Survey reveals that the share of the housing sector to the overall GDP is likely to rise by one per cent to 6 per cent on increased investment. Currently, about 5 per cent of India’s GDP is contributed by the housing sector. With institutional credit for housing investment growing at a compounded annual growth rate of about 18-20 per cent per annum in the next three-five years, the housing sector’s contribution to GDP is likely to increase to 6 per cent.

As every rupee that is invested in housing and construction, Rs 0.78 gets added to the GDP. Investment in housing and real estate activities can be considered a barometer of growth of the entire economy. Unfortunately, the 2012-13 Budget does not recognise this. Although the finance minister’s speech concludes by reiterating the fact that there is a need to create an “enabling atmosphere” and that India is on the brink of “resurgence”, he has done precious little to make that happen.

India’s GDP has not been growing as it was sometime earlier was the topic of the finance minister before presenting the Budget. His five-point objective does not really lay any emphasis on the housing and real estate industry. While he has tried to restrict central subsidies to fewer than 2 per cent of GDP to improve the quality of public spending, he has failed to provide for measures which will give impetus to the industry at large, housing and real estate in particular.

The finance minister has permitted external commercial borrowings (ECBs) for low cost affordable housing projects. One wonders if this would do any good, since players in this industry are not used to taking the ECB route for affordable housing projects. This provision therefore does not make sense.

Extending the scheme of interest subvention of 1 per cent on housing loans up to Rs 15 lakh (on houses costing up to Rs 25 lakh) for another year also does not make sense, unless and until the limit of Rs 25 lakh is increased.

Realty players demand Industry status and affordable housing as a priority from the Budget 2012-13.

The Union Budget 2012 to be presented by the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is being looked at to provide relief in terms of policy reforms with the real estate sector of the economy coming under repeated credit pressures owing to high interest rates for borrowing.

Experts say that the real estate sector needs government support as well as further stimulus to get out of the current slump. With the first step, experts have sought industry status for real estate, since the sector is a major driver for economic growth and generates countless jobs across its various verticals and associated industries. Experts this feel will also help the sector raise debt from FIs at a much lower rate.

Common demand across all real estate companies is that of an industry status being assigned to the sector in the Budget 2012-13 with ways to make affordable housing available to a larger section of the society.

Samir Jasuja, founder and chief executive officer at Prop Equity said, “In this budget, we expect the central government to grant the real estate sector the industry status as that would help the reeling sector raise debt from financial institutions at a much lower rate, which may partly improve the liquidity crunch crisis.”

Real Estate Prices To Increase

Sansad Bhavan
Photo by
It is very likely that the Real Estate prices in the country will shoot up further with the Finance Ministry’s decision of not withdrawing 2.5% service tax. This move was proposed by the Urban Development Ministry in the budget of FY10-11.

The budget had earlier proposed this tax on all under-construction projects. And it is common knowledge that eventually the customers will have to bear the burden and not the developers.

The declination came as no less than a shock to the Urban Development Ministry. Its Minister Mr. S Jaipal Reddy argued with the Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee in the favor of the move in April this year but it could yield no results evidently.

The ultimate sufferers will be the Indian middle class who already has to bear the burden of inflation in almost all other spheres but also dreams of owing a home of their own!

Memorandum to Govt. from CREDAI to Take Off Service Tax

Ministère des Finances QuébecApril 14, 2010

A memorandum has been submitted to the Finance Ministry concerned with the appeal for removal of service tax on housing complexes under construction by CREDAI, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India which is a real estate industry body.

The Chairman of CREDAI, Kumar Gera stated that they have put forth their concerns and suggestions and also discussed the probable impact of the provisions with the Ministry. An understanding of the problem and required corrective steps will be taken is a hope from the government. The list of recommendations was built in consultations with KPMG, its knowledge partner and was submitted to Y G Parande, a Finance Ministry Member (Budget).

According to Gera, the money collected through the imposition of service tax on real estate development will not be big enough; rather it would majorly lead an overall negative sentiment and a net loss of revenue.

In budget 2010, it was announced by Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, the Finance Minister that a tax would be imposed on the housing complexes under construction but later it was clarified by the officials that service tax would be imposed on 33 per cent of total selling price. This was interpreted by the real estate players as a 3.5% price escalation for the buyers.

According to CREDAI, it was an impractical proposal to levy service tax on construction of complex since would lead to government giving preference to the secondary market of completed projects.

Realty Sector Urges FM To Revisit Budget

The urban development ministry aims to seek a review of the proposal to get the service tax duty on sale of housing projects under construction which had been proposed in budget 2010 from April 1, 2010.

Delhi Properties - Real Estate India - Unitech Verve
Photo by nancyarora2020
The urban development Minister Mr. S Jaipal Reddy said at the national conference on Indian Real Estate “The urban development ministry feels the proposal of service tax needs review. I am recommending the review of the proposal. I think the real estate sector in India is not in pink of health right now and we cannot afford to add pressure on that,” he said, adding that suggestions would be made to the finance minister in the next few days.

The conference on Indian real estate was held by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India ( ASSOCHAM ) on Friday, March 26.

Realty sector has suffered the most after the global meltdown started in September 2008 and has just started to witness marginal pick up in demand. Real estate players are already pushing the government to withdraw the service tax imposed on the housing sector (at 3.3%, with abatement), as it would dampen the buyers.

“This is not the right time for service tax implementation as the government’s objective is to encourage people to own houses. We have to wait for another month or so to see if the finance ministry listens to our request,” told KP Singh, Chairman, DLF Group.

Mr. Reddy said that the government wants “vertical growth” of cities contrary to urban sprawl due to shortage of land and a more flexible floor-area-ratio (FAR) regime. A high FAR limit will allow more storeys’s to be built in the houses.

He quoted a report from the UN Habitat which showed, by 2050, 1 billion people of India will be living in cities. Reddy said to the reporters “ Urbanization is not only inevitable but also desirable,”  but further added that urban development has been a subject of “benign neglect” over the years as the issue fell in the domain of the state governments.”

Another suitable point that has been an issue for real estate companies is the number of clearances one has to take for the beginning of any project. “Today, there are more than 50 agencies from where we have to take our clearances. We have to ensure that the best way forward is to have a single window system as it would not only save time, but also ensure transparency,” said MD, Raheja Developers Ltd, Mr. Navin M Raheja.

“It is very important to have a single window clearance system in real estate sector,” put forward Anil K. Agarwal, Past President of Assocham.

All we have to wait for is the finance minister’s stand.