A White Paper on black money tabled in Parliament on Monday, May 21, has named real estate among others as most vulnerable to menace of black money. Given that land is part of the top black money generators, the white paper suggested that states could consider taxing farm income to curb black money.
Real Estate is at the epicenter contributing to shape up today’s world. The construction industry is also treated as the backbone in a developing country like ours but in recent times it has been seen slowing down by low margins, negative cash flow from operations, rising interest costs on high working capital , execution delays and poor corporate governance.
Despite the market slowdown and high competitiveness among the ‘Big Boys’ in the Indian residential real estate business, smaller builders of residential projects can still corner a healthy market share. It is all a matter of knowing which league to play in, and how to play.
The government has formed a committee to evolve a workable strategy for reducing the time taken in approval of real estate projects which could ultimately reduce the cost of houses by 25 to 40 per cent, minister of housing and urban poverty alleviation Kumari Selja said on Friday, May 11.
When the Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee proposed home buyers to withhold 1% of the sale consideration as Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), it became a free-for-all kind of football match with developers and property consultants alleging that it could encourage black money component in real estate, while tax consultants believed otherwise and pointed out that the reach of the banking sector in rural area makes it easier to detect unsavoury deals.
The building approval process in India is relatively slower and more expensive in comparison to several other countries as indicated by a recent World Bank assessment. The report highlights that an average 37 procedures over a period of 195 days are needed for obtaining construction permits in the country vis-à-vis 15 approvals over an average 157 days in the OECD region.
The much-awaited regulatory Bill for the real estate sector will not be tabled during the current session of Parliament, a senior official in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has confirmed to Track2Realty. The draft Real Estate Regulation Bill is still in the consultative process and the government is apprehensive that the states may block it the NCTC way.
The much awaited verdict of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on real estate developers’ complaint against cartelisation among cement companies is expected next week.
The Finance Ministry is building safeguards to ensure realty companies do not misuse the external commercial borrowing (ECB) window announced in the Budget by diverting the money.
Anmol Shah, the Gujarati businessman settled in Mumbai, has both the emotional as well as rational reasons to invest in property this time on Akshay Tritiya. His astrologer has suggested that very much like a few years back when he bought his first flat in Mumbai, followed by an office in one of the Central Business Districts (CBD) on Akshay Tritiya, he should yet again buy the second house on the auspicious day this year.