Tag Archives: Government of India

Story Behind Jaypee’s Failure

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Shri. Jaiprakash Gaur, the founder of Jaypee Group, had a single-minded focus after graduating from IIT Roorkee with a diploma in civil engineering. He decided to contribute to nation-building by branching off as a civil contractor in 1958 and founded Jaypee Group. The Group’s business interests include engineering and construction, cement, power, real estate, expressways, fertilizer, hospitality, healthcare, sports, and information technology. This article covers the story behind Jaypee’s failure. How did Jaypee start, what all the good things it did, what exactly went wrong, and what is the future now? One thing is for sure, if everything would have gone well, Jaypee would have completely changed the situation in Noida. It could have become the DLF of Noida. But could not. More than 20000 buyers are still struggling to get the homes of their dreams. Let us look at the story behind the making of Jaypee.

Work done by Jaypee:

Jaypee Infratech was founded in 2007 and it is the part of the Jaypee Group. So, let’s look at some of the successful works done by Jaypee Infratech.

1. Yamuna Expressway project:

The Group entered into the construction of expressways with a 165 km access controlled 6 lane super expressway along the Yamuna River connecting Greater Noida and Agra. You would know how well-developed the Yamuna expressway is if you have been to it. It has become a big boon for Noida. Jaypee has also built the Zirakpur-Parwanoo Himalayan Expressway. 

2. Jaypee’s Hotels and Resorts:

In New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the hospitality division of the Group owns and manages five hotels. 

3. Jaypee’s Hospital:

The Jaypee Hospital is well-developed and offers excellent health facilities. The hospital is now commissioning 525 beds in the first phase of its intended 1200-bedded tertiary care multi-specialty complex.

4. Jaypee’s F1 Sports:

The Group hosted the inaugural Formula One Grand Prix of India on October 30, 2011. The track is anticipated to hold more top-tier international racing competitions in addition to F1. Though this was unsuccessful as F1 races did not succeed in India. 

5. Jaypee’s Real Estate:

The first real estate project of the group, Jaypee Greens Greater Noida, covers 452 acres. This distinguished municipality includes an 18-hole Greg Norman golf course, upscale homes, shopping centers, etc. 

India’s First Wish Town, a premier township featuring an 18 + 9 Hole golf course, world-class residences, commercial developments, numerous entertainment amenities, and acres of greenery, was Jaypee Greens’ second project when it was unveiled in Noida in November 2007. The group then started construction on Jaypee Greens Sports City and Jaypee Greens Wish Town Agra, two townships along the Yamuna Expressway and Jewar International Airport, which is scheduled to open soon, and is a 20-minute drive from the city center. 

But destiny was against Jaypee’s prosperity, and Jaypee’s fantasy township became a failure. So let’s talk about this township’s swindling and how many house buyers lost their dream homes.

Jaypee’s Failure in Real Estate:

Who doesn’t want to be the owner of their own home? All of us do. Not just any house, either. A perfect home must be spacious, well-connected to the rest of the city, have a room with a view, and have the best amenities. However, it has been more than 12 years since thousands of Jaypee Infratech Limited (JIL) home buyers in Noida were victims of the mother of all real estate failures in India. The long-drawn legal battles are ongoing, leaving more than 20,000 Jaypee home seekers running from pillar to post and many giving up.

Jaypee got the land of the wish town in return for building the Noida expressway for Rs 400 crores. The company launched 32000 flats, still, 70% of apartments are in the under-construction stage. This project did not show any signs of readiness for the completion date. Around 90% of buyers made their payment, but it was still claimed that progress has been made on this project, although there was nothing to show for it.

A total of 18,767 people paid a total of Rs.8,676 crores to the company. 1410 people received possession worth 528 crores with no registrations. 413 people canceled their booking and their refund of Rs 64 crores is still pending.

Reasons for the failure:

 The reason behind the Real estate failure of Jaypee are:

  1. Jaypee group took the money that buyers had paid for homes and invested it in other projects.
  2. The company invested the money in other businesses.
  3. The government changed at that time.

 Future of Jaypee’s Failure:

After a super-lengthy resolution process, Mumbai-based Suraksha realty group got the approval of financial creditors and home buyers to take over the company in June 2021. Furthermore, in its offer, Suraksha promised to deliver all Jaiprakash Associates’ pending housing units within 42 months. It has offered to pay Rs 125 crore upfront and infuse Rs 3,000 crore within 90 days for completing the stalled projects. It will also put Rs 300 crore receivable from Jaiprakash Associates for completing the pending housing unit. Since Jaypee was an extraordinary case, the finalization of the bids is pending before NCLT for more than 17 months for approval. After the approval, the 20,000 home buyers who have been waiting for their units in various housing projects of Jaypee can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

How to save tax on property – For sellers

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When selling a property, sellers want to know how much tax they’ll pay and whether there is any way to reduce or avoid the tax. The article below focuses on capital gains tax for sellers who are selling a property.

A self-occupied house gives you two avenues of saving taxes which are the payment of interest and repayment of principal. You can get Rs 2 lakh deduction under section 24b of the Income-tax Act, 1961 on interest payment and Rs 1.5 lakh on principal repayment under section 80C.

What is a Capital asset?

Capital assets include land, buildings, jewelry, vehicles, trademarks, machinery, patents, and licenses. When a capital asset is sold and any profit is received, it is known as capital gains. Agricultural land is not a capital asset.


Capital gains tax on residential property for sellers:

To understand capital gains, let’s consider an example. Regarding residential property, there are two types of capital gains tax: long-term capital gain and short-term capital gain. We will now discuss these two taxes.

  1. LTCG (LONG-TERM CAPITAL GAINS)- If you hold a property for more than 24 months, you pay a flat rate of 20% tax on any capital gains. Exemptions are available in this.
  2. STCG (SHORT-TERM CAPITAL GAINS)- If you hold the property for less than 24 months, you will be charged short-term capital gains tax. The government taxes the individual at their slab rate of income tax. If you are in the 30% bracket, then STCG will be 30%. You do not receive any benefits for indexation (i.e., inflation). The amount for which you purchased the property and sold it, the difference will be taxed.

The following chart illustrates and differentiates between long-term capital gains and short-term capital gains.

CAPITAL GAINS ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY                STCG                         LTCG
TIMELess than 24 months(2 years)        More than 24 months (2 years)
TAX@Slab       Flat rate 20%
EXEMPTIONNo    Yes
INDEXATIONNo       Yes

Capital gain tax exemption:

Furthermore, we will discuss three ways in which you can save on long-term capital gains tax when selling residential property and other assets.

  1. SECTION 54- Under section 54, individuals and Hindu undivided families (HUF) can claim tax benefits on residential property they own. The minimum holding period is two years. It is important to note that only residential properties qualify for this section; commercial properties do not qualify. Next, the residential property must be a constructed property that you are selling. If you are selling the residential plot, then you will not get any benefit from it. If you invest the profits received from the proceeds in the purchase of 1 or 2 residential properties or the construction of another property, you will get a complete exemption from long-term capital gains tax.
    1. The capital gains from selling the property must be put in a new property which can be purchased within 1 year of the sale or within 2 years of the sale, in order to claim tax exemption. Similarly, if you are constructing a property, then for the forthcoming 3 years, if construction is completed, tax exemption will be available for you. Here, you only need to invest the number of capital gains i.e. profits; you do not have to invest the entire amount.
    2. FOR EXAMPLE: Twenty years ago you purchased a residential property for Rs 60 lakhs. And now sold it for Rs 90 lakhs. So 30 lakhs is a long-term capital gain (LTCG). Invest this 30 lakhs in 1 or 2 properties or some construction work; you don’t need to invest the entire 90 lakhs. The maximum capital gain which you can claim is up to Rs 2 crores. This exemption can be claimed once in a lifetime and will be reversed if you sell this new property within 3 years from its purchase date. If you invest this amount into bank fixed deposits or a savings account, this cannot be claimed as an income tax exemption. Banks offer a capital gains account scheme if you wish to claim the tax exemption.
  2. SECTION 54EC- Any individual can open a capital gains account. Any asset like; stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and house property may be used as collateral for this type of account. A 3-year holding period is required, with the ability to invest within 6 months. The maximum amount that can be supported is 50 lakhs, but all must be invested in specified bonds with a 5-year lock-in period. These bonds offer good returns on investment and are available only through this type of account.
  3. SECTION 54F- Now, finally, we come to Section 54F. In this section, any individual or Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) can claim tax exemption on capital assets other than a house property. Such assets include bonds, stocks, commercial property, and plots. The person taking the exemption shall not hold more than one house property. To acquire the asset’s value, you must buy residential property or construct it. This section does not cover any plots. The time limit for claiming tax exemption is 1 year back or 2 years forward if you purchase a property; construction is forward 3 years.

There are some other conditions under SECTION 54F and i.e.;

  1. The entire sale proceeds must be invested. Invest the entire 90 lakhs and not a partial amount or capital gains on which you can claim full exemption. You can only claim a partial exemption if part of the money is invested.
  2. If you sell this new property within three years of its purchase, the exemption will be reversed.
  3. If you want to claim the capital gains tax exemption, invest in a capital gains account. You cannot claim this exemption on a savings account.

All you need to know about the sale deed

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What are the steps in the process of buying a property?

Let’s first discuss the steps in buying a property. When purchasing a property, the first step is negotiating the price with the seller. To confirm the booking, you must pay an advance to the seller. A builder must first pay a 10% deposit and sign a booking form before purchasing a property. After the buyer and seller agree on terms, they sign a contract that includes a time period for payment (generally two to three months). But this is not a sale deed. It’s important to note the information, facts and details in a sale deed and here’s everything you need to know.

A sale is completed when the seller transfers ownership rights to the buyer. The deed of sale is drawn up and registered with a specific state authority, making it valid.

How is a Sale Deed Executed? – RoofandFloor Blog

What is Sale deed?

The deed of sale is a legal and final document transferring ownership of a property. It describes the terms of the sale and is signed by both the buyer and the seller. Depending on its purpose, a contract of sale may also be called a contract of sale or a contract of sale mortgage. A bill of sale is governed by the common law, the Contracts Act, the Transfer of Property Act, etc. It uses certain terms that are standard across all jurisdictions, but certain details relate more specifically to the Indian context such as consideration (usually the same as the amount paid).

Benefits of Sale deed:

  1. Protects Parties – A well drafted deed protects both the buyer and the seller by preventing ambiguity and minimizing legal risks.
  2. Defines The Area – Buyers find it helpful to specify the square footage and locations of properties on paper.
  3. A sale deed is a legal document that concludes a sale. It is enforceable by law.

Clauses / Elements in the Sale deed you should know:

The sale deed includes the following details:

  1. Details of the party – The details of the party include the names, ages, and addresses for both buyers and sellers.
  2. Details of the property – The location of the property, a description of the property, and construction details.
  3. Payment details – Payment details will show you the price of your property. It also lists the payment mode like a credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover) or direct transfer from a bank account.
  4. Handing over the original papers of the property and the possession details.
  5. No dues on the property – On the property, no dues, such as loans, tax, liability, and other dues.
  6. Indemnity clause –  An indemnity clause in a sale deed provides protection for the buyer’s interests. It is important to draft the document with care to avoid future disputes. Indemnity clauses under the sale deed seek compensation if there are any losses or expenses in the future.

What is the process for executing a Sale deed?

  1. Draft sale deed – To execute a sale deed, you need to first draft a sale deed. This document records all of the property owner’s rights, duties, and interests in the property. This includes encumbrances, liens, loans, taxes, mortgages and deeds for neighboring properties if they do not belong to the same legal entity.
  2. Pay Stamp Duty – Stamp duty is a tax paid to the Indian government on the sale of real estate. It is usually paid by the buyer and varies from state to state. For more details see our detailed video on stamp duty.
  3. Signed – Both buyer and seller must sign the sales deed. This document ensures that they have both agreed to the terms of the sale transaction. The deed must be registered within four months of the date it was signed in order to be valid.
  4. Registered – A sale deed serves as both proof of ownership and an essential legal document required for taxation purposes. It is an affidavit signed by both the seller and buyer. This is submitted to the revenue department when registering property under several tax laws. It must be registered within 4 months of signing the document. If this deadline is exceeded, you risk losing your right to purchase the property.
  5. The seller gives the original documents – The seller delivers the original documents and the buyer pays to execute the sale deed.

The following are the important, procedural, and legal terms you should know about sale deed if you are planning to sell your house.

Stamp duty and registration charges in India?

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Suppose a buyer and seller get into a sale and purchase of the property. For the sale deed, they must register it in India and pay stamp duty and registration charges.

What is Stamp Duty Refund Process when the Sales Deed is canceled? - Kotak Bank

Who collects Stamp duty and registration charges in India?  

  1. As per the Indian Stamp Act 1899 the state government collects Stamp Duty and not the central government. It is different in different states. The state government uses it for building the state’s infrastructure.
  2. Stamp Duty varies with the type of housing and the state in which it is located, and it also varies with the gender of the buyer, and senior citizens get a rebate on registration charges.

Benefits of Stamp duty

  1. Registering a stamp duty makes the sale deed a proper legal document and makes it possible to submit the deed to the court as evidence. In case the document is lost, a duplicate copy can be produced. The buyer has to pay stamp duty at the time of registration.
  2. The buyer generally pays Stamp Duty

Stamp duty in Real Estate?  

Stamp duty in Real estate is on Sale deed, Partition Deed, and Lease Deed. If a lease deed is more than 12 months, it must be registered and pay stamp duty, otherwise, generally, lease deeds are for 11 months. Therefore, which means the document of the property is verified by a notary declaring the authenticity of both parties signing the documents.

Delhi Stamp duty

  1. Delhi Stamp Duty charge has been going on since the year 1908, which is a retardation charge.
  2. Like in Delhi, stamp duty is 6% if a property is registered in a Male’s name, 4% if in a female’s name, and 5% if in joint name. This is in case the property value is less than 10 lakh rupees. But if it is more than 10 lakhs rupees, both males and females pay equal stamp duty.
  3. The Registration charge is 1% of the property value.
OwnerStamp Duty
Male6%
Female4%
Joint (Male& Female)5%

How to pay Stamp duty?

The 3 methods to pay a stamp duty are as follows:

Method 1 –

Non-Judicial stamp paper. If stamp duty is 1 lakh, buy papers worth Rs 1 lakh. You will print the sale deed on stamp paper.

Method 2 –

Franking method – Print the sale deed on plain paper. Pay stamp duty in a cheque, cash, online, or dd draft. Then bank attests to the sale deed.

Method 3 –

E-Stamping – it will mention all details – generated online – Go to Stock holding corporation of India – www.shcilestamp.com. This will be paid at authorized centers. Collect e-stamp then.

Anand Rathi and Knight Frank Eye the Second Realty Fund

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Anand Rathi Financial Services and property consultancy Knight Frank India are planning to launch their second real estate fund by end of this months and looking to raise around Rs 500 crore (~$100 million), sources close to the development told VCCircle. Unlike its peers who are hitting foreign shores to raise new funds, the joint fund rental yield and appreciation portfolio (RYAP) fund will be raised from the domestic market.  Like its predecessor, it will invest in commercial assets in tier I cities which include Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, National Capital Region (NCR) and Chennai.

The fund would be targeting returns of 10-12 per cent from its investments and expects to stay invested in an asset for four-five years. A senior executive of the joint venture fund house who did not wish to be identified, said, “We are waiting for final Alternate Investment Fund (AIF) guidelines as right now there is no clarity on registration of funds and other norms. Once we have clarity on the same which we are expecting by mid-May we will register and start our fund raising process.”

In April 2, markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had unveiled its final norms to regulate AIF’s in the country. Fund managers expect the detailed guidelines to be issued in the next two weeks.

Knight Frank India and Anand Rathi Financial Services had joined hands two years ago to raise Rs 225 crore rental yield fund. It has invested Rs 135 crore from the existing fund in two projects including Hub town Ltd’s commercial project in Mumbai and Cerebrum IT park development by Pune-based Kumar Urban Development Ltd.

Bengal Urban Land Policy: Seeks 30% Reservation for Low-Cost Housing

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The promise of Ma, Mati, and Manush governance by Mamata Banerjee may fall short of the second M-word, meaning land — at least for real estate developers in the state’s capital city. For, the West Bengal government has now decided to bring in an amendment to the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act (ULCA), 1976, an eyesore of developers for quite some time. The proposed alteration will stipulate the developers to reserve 30 per cent apartments in big housing projects for the low-income group (LIG). Industrialists have been seeking a total repeal of the Act, introduced in 1976 to prevent hoarding or excessive holding of land in urban centres.

According to the Act, the ceiling limit on vacant land in a category ‘A’ city like Kolkata is 7.5 cottah or about 500 square meters. The demand for repealing the ULCA was raised for the first time by Godrej Properties chairman Adi Godrej, at an industry meet within the first month of Banerjee taking over the chief minister’s office.

Much to the disappointment of the developers, urban development minister Firhad Hakim has now totally ruled out the possibility of repealing the Act. “We are not going to abolish the Land Ceiling Act,” he said. “Instead, we will give permission to developers for purchase of land beyond ceiling, provided they reserve 30 per cent housing for low-income housing segment.”

As for the Trinamool dispensation, it has also decided to do away with the concept of public-private partnership (PPP) — an idea pioneered by the earlier Left Front government under Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Instead, “the government will allocate land to the highest bidder and for the rest of the big projects the state will build on its own,” according to Hakim. Notably, in spite of the Land Ceiling Act, the earlier government had windfall gains by allotting land in prime areas of city.

For example, three prominent government agencies involved in land deals in and around Kolkata — the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), Kolkata Municipal Corporation and West Bengal Housing Board— signed deals worth more than Rs 18,000 crore, for over 5,250 acres of land during the period in little over two years. In fact, KMDA was credited with signing deals, worth more thanRs 800 crore with real estate developers on a single day. “The process of land allotment slowed substantially over the last two years. First, it was due to elections,” said a city-based real estate developer. “Second, it was due to lack of vision and policy of the new government.”

Realty projects, roads focus to help build-up for Unity Infraprojects

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Healthy order book, strong balance sheet and the potential to unlock value from real estate projects make Unity Infraprojects a decent investment idea on a medium-term basis. Mumbai-based Unity Infraprojects is a small-sized construction firm operating in buildings, water and roads segments. The company is also developing real estate on its land parcels in Nagpur, Bangalore, Pune, Kolkata and Goa. The total saleable area from these projects is nearly nine million square feet.

Unity Infraprojects stands to gain by unlocking the value in its real estate projects. It was not able to monetise any of its real estate projects due to delays in execution by over a year. However, it is now in an advanced stage of securing approvals for launching its Bangalore residential project. Unity has a total saleable area of nearly 3 million square feet in this project, which it intends to launch in another three months.

After this it will focus on monetising its real estate in other cities. The current order book of the company in its construction business stands at Rs 4,700 crore, which are 2.75 times its FY11 revenues. These orders are to be executed over the next three years. The company has been increasing its exposure to the roads segment in the last few years. Although the roads segment is highly competitive, Unity’s backward integration in terms of owns machinery has allowed the company to garner better operating margins than its peers.

In the nine months ending December 2011, the company has maintained an operating margin of 15.5%. Another factor that augurs well for the company is its strong balance sheet. As of September 2011, the company had a debt-equity ratio of 1.1, which is one of the best among its peers. Unity Infraprojects’ stock is trading at a P/E of 3.9 while similar-sized rivals like Pratibha Industries and Supreme Infrastructure India are trading at a P/E of 5.9 and 5.2, respectively. Considering its growth potential and the relative discount to its peers, the stock looks attractive at this level.


Real Estate Prices To Increase

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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!