Ramneek Patel, an MNC executive in Gurugram is on a company leased accommodation and the HR is deducting INR 40,000 per month for his rented apartment. Now that the Goods & Service Tax (GST) has been imposed for rental residential units to companies, he has been told by the company that the said liability will be passed on to the employees living in company leased apartments. They can otherwise find an apartment on their own.
This is a major push to the housing sector as aspiring home buyers now have a wider range of options to choose from. Additionally, developers would be enthused enough to commit towards offering more residential options in the affordable category.
It is true that the GST burden is today a huge deterrent in the housing market and a large share of homebuyers are now waiting for the project to be ready as the ready to move apartment won’t attract GST burden. The problem, however, is with millions of buyers who are in the mid cycle of construction and the GST has suddenly added to their already over stretched budget in the housing market.
If one has to ask a homebuyer about his dream wish list, one would ask for few things like getting what one can see, carpet area that could be measured, no hidden cost and, last but not the least, no extra tax. Now it seems these fancy wishes would be true with the Goods & Services Tax (GST) if only one would go for a ready to move property.
Impact of GST on real estate in general and homebuyers…