Budget 2019: From the stressed asset fund for incomplete projects to bringing Realty under GST, the Real Estate sector has time and again voiced various demands from the outgoing Finance Minister – Arun Jaitley. The Indian Real Estate sector has bloomed under the regime of the Modi government. Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act has strongly advocated for the buyers’ rights, making builders accountable for timely delivery of housing projects. The government’s vision of ‘Housing for All’ by 2022 boosted MIG housing while upgrading the infrastructure and road carpeting spurred the growth of the Real Estate sector incidentally.

With less than 10 days to the Interim Budget 2019, here’s a list of 5 demands from the Indian Real Estate sector:

1. Real Estate and GST

The industry has long demanded to bring it completely under the ambit of Goods and Services Tax (GST) to pass on the benefit of the input tax credit to the buyers. Various industry bodies have proposed to bring down the GST on under construction properties to 12% from the current 18% to reduce the tax burden which has to be ultimately born by the home buyer. If these two expectations are met in Budget 2019, then overall GST burden on the common man will almost become tax neutral given 12% GST will be further reduced due to the input tax credit.

2. Home, Home Loans & Income Tax

Apart from increasing the tax exemption limit for interest on Home Loans from the current 2 lac to 3 lac, home buyers also expect the government to revise the tax computation of income on house rent and increase the exemption from the current 30% to 50% to lend impetus to rental housing. These two moves will attract the common man to buy a home for self- occupancy as well as for investment purpose to earn rental income.

3. Reduce Stamp Duty

The Stamp Duty while purchasing and registering a property and the GST on the property value fall in two separate categories currently. Home buyers and builders are of the view that stamp duty too should be brought under GST to cut down the total expense incurred by the home buyer and make housing affordable for middle class.

4. Single Window for Clearance

The entire procedure to buy or build a housing project takes one through multiple windows of government offices. Home buyers, builders and developers alike have long demanded from the government to come up with a single window of clearance of projects to expedite the housing projects.

5. Create a Stressed Asset Fund

Lastly, the Real Estate sector has seen stagnancy due to financial crunch with a surfeit of incomplete properties that are not completed due to lack of funds. It is the common man as well as the real estate industry stakeholders who have to bear the brunt of delayed projects. The industry expects the government to allocate a Stressed Asset Fund to support such projects and reinstate buyer confidence while reviving the realty market.