Real estate company Amrapali, which has been worst affected by the Supreme Court judgment regarding land acquisition in Greater Noida, today said it is refunding the entire amount to home-buyers who have opted out from its township in the area.
However, another badly affected developer Supertech has sought legal opinion on returning the service tax that was collected from consumers.
Amrapali will have to return 40 acres of land to farmers following the apex court upholding the Allahabad High Court’s order quashing the acquisition of 156 hectares (nearly 400 acres) of land in Greater Noida. About 4,000 buyers in Amrapali’s ‘Smart City’ township have been affected because of the court order.
“About 3,500 buyers have been relocated to our other projects. For those who have decided to take refunds, the company is returning the entire amount, including the service tax,” Amrapali Chairman and MD Anil Sharma has said.
Sharma said the company will at present refund the service tax from its own account and later recollect it from new buyers in case the authorities renegotiate with farmers and allow builders to develop projects on the same land. “…in case that does not happen, we will approach the government for reimbursement of the service tax,” he added.
When asked whether buyers of other projects in nearby areas are also seeking refunds, Sharma said: “The company has not received any such requests. The buyers are concerned and enquiring about the status of their investments, which is very natural”.
Supertech, whose 10 acres of land and about 500 buyers have been affected, said majority of them want to be relocated to other projects.
“Those who are seeking refunds, we are returning entire amount with interest,” Supertech Chairman R K Arora said.
On service tax, he said the company is seeking legal opinion whether refund is possible from the government.
Meanwhile, the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) said it is yet to receive the formal order of the Supreme Court to take the necessary action. ”We are still waiting for the detailed order. We will return the land to farmers after going through the detailed order,” GNIDA Chief Executive Officer Rama Raman said.
GNIDA will seek refund from the farmers, who had received compensation package, before returning the land, he added.
Following the Supreme Court order, realty apex body Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India assured that about 6,000 affected flat owners, who had booked their houses in the projects of seven firms, would either be moved into other projects or their money would be returned.
