Govt looks to take ordinance route to align SEZ Act with GST

Delhi/NCR

Days before the goods and services tax (GST) is rolled out, the government will rush an ordinance to amend the law for special economic zones to align it with incoming tax regime.

The government is also working on a scheme that will directly transfer some taxes paid by exporters to their accounts to ensure a smooth ride for exporters when this reform is rolled out.

"We are looking at ordinance route to amend the SEZ Act...Some provisions need to be changed in line with the GST," said a senior government official.

The SEZ Act is yet to be aligned with the GST, which seeks to replace central taxes such as central excise duty, service tax, counter vailing duty and a number of cesses and state taxes with one single levy.

The SEZ law has references to current taxation regime which needs to now referenced to GST and for which the tax needs to be amended. The GST Council has provided for zero rating of supplies to SEZs, implying that no tax will be levied on them though they will be part of the GST regime.

Ordinance is being contemplated as the legislative changes are to be urgently carried out in line with GST roll out from July 1. Next Parliament session is expected to begin mid-July but these changes need to be in place when GST is rolled out.

Tax experts say the government should also provide clarity on registration of SEZ units in states.

"It is not clear as to whether an entity which has SEZ units in more than one zone in the same state will have to take separate registrations or one registration per state will suffice," said Pratik Jain, leader, indirect taxes, PwC India.

Separately, the government is putting in place a scheme to pass on some subsidy to exporters in lieu of taxes that will not be reimbursed through the refund scheme. The commerce department is working out the scheme that could be announced as part of the new Foreign Trade Policy. The official said the government would soon notify the rate schedule and rules.

Signature Global to invest Rs 400-cr in two Gurugram projects

New Delhi, Jun 25 () Realty firm Signature Global will invest Rs 400 crore to develop two new affordable home projects in Gurugram as part of its expansion plan in low-cost housing segment.
The company, which last month got Rs 200 crore funding from private equity player KKR, today launched two projects -- comprising 1,900 units -- which will be constructed over the next four years.
The projects have been launched after registering them with state regulator under the new Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act.
With the launch of the two projects, the company has so far announced the development of 9,300 units in 9 projects -- all under the Haryana affordable housing policy.
Signature Global will build 1,448 units in 'The Millennia' project and another 448 units in 'Solera-2' project.
The selling price has been fixed at Rs 4,000 per sq ft of carpet area. The apartments will be sold through a draw in a price range of Rs 20-25 lakh.
"The demand for affordable housing is increasing each day. We had launched 7,405 affordable units in 7 projects and with the new launches today, we have added 1,900 more units. Now, we would be developing over 9,300 units under 9 projects," the company's chairman and co-founder Pradeep Aggarwal said.
The project cost is Rs 400 crore which will be funded through internal accruals and funds raised from KKR.
He said the company plans to launch around 20,000 more affordable units in the future.
Ravi Aggarwal, Managing Director & co-founder, said, "Supporting the cause of Housing for All and celebrating National Housing Day, we have announced the participation in draws online by purchasing the booking form for Rs 1,000 and just paying 5 per cent of the total unit cost."
Besides KKR, the Delhi-based firm had last year raise
With affordable housing segment getting infrastructure status in this year's budget, the real estate developers are focusing on low cost homes. The government is also providing interest subsidy on loans for affordable housing.
d Rs 150 crore from ICICI Prudential.

Source- PTI

UP CM Yogi Adityanath promises to develop cities in 'smart' list

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today thanked the Centre for including three more cities in the state under the Smart City Mission and promised to make every effort to provide world class facilities.

Jhansi, Allahabad and Aligarh have found place in the latest list of 30 new cities announced by Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu in Delhi as part of the government's Smart City Mission, launched in 2015.

State capital Lucknow, Varansi, Kanpur and Agra were included in the list before. Development works are already in the last phase in these cities, an official press release said.

Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Naidu, the chief minister also assured that his government would make every effort to promptly carry out works for the development of the cities selected under the Smart City project, the release said.

Efforts were on to get five more cities - Meerut, Rae Bareli, Ghaziabad, Saharanpur and Rampur - in the list, Adityanath said.

He added that his government would not tolerate laxity in development works under the project.

These works, when completed, will bring qualitative improvement in the condition of these cities and also provide world class facilities to people residing there, Adityanath said.

The Smart City Mission was launched with the aim of transforming 100 Indian cities by 2019-20. The Centre provides Rs 500 crore to each city over a period of five years for implementing various projects.

Announcing the new list of smart cities in Delhi, Naidu said 45 cities contested for the 40 available smart city slots but only 30 were selected to ensure their feasibility and workable plans.

Source- ET Realty

EPFO ties up with Hudco to enable Rs 2.67 lakh housing subsidy to members

Retirement fund body Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Thursday joined hands with Housing and Urban Development Corp (HUDCO) to enable its members avail credit-linked subsidy of up to Rs 2.67 lakh for buying affordable homes under PMAY.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was inked on Thursday by EPFO's Central Provident Fund Commissioner V P Joy and HUDCO CMD M Ravi Kanth.

The pact was inked in the presence of Urban Development, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya for facilitating "Housing for All by 2022".

The MoU will club the benefits of the Housing Scheme introduced by the EPFO for its subscribers and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

Under the housing scheme, the EPFO allows its subscribers from societies for withdrawing up to 90 per cent of their EPF accumulations to buy homes.

The labour ministry intends to facilitate at least 10 lakh subscribers in the next two years by allowing them to use 90 per cent of EPF accumulations to make down payments to buy houses and use their accounts for paying off EMIs of home loans.

In April this year, the EPFO had amended the EPF Scheme to enable subscribers make down payment to buy homes and pay EMIs through the EPF account.

Under the PMAY, the beneficiaries are provided credit linked subsidy based on their income levels so that the dream of housing for all can be realised by 2022.

The HUDCO is a nodal agency for implementation of credit linked subsidy scheme for middle and lower-income groups and economically weaker section under the PMAY.


Source- Business Line

No ads of housing projects without registering with RERA: Govt

Clearing the air on real estate developers issuing advertisements, the government has said no ongoing or future projects can be advertised without registering them first with the new regulator.

The clarification is likely to further dampen the already subdued real estate market that has seen no real appreciation in value of property or sales growth during the last few years.

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act was passed last year to regulate the sector, eliminate fly-by- night operators and protect buyers' interest. The Act came into force from May this year.

Realtors' body NAREDCO had submitted a representation to Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation seeking clarity on advertisement and sale of the ongoing projects amid conflicting reports and interpretation on the issue.

"Section 3 (1) of the Act prohibits advertisements for all projects (ongoing/future) without registration with the real estate regulator. This provision has come into effect from May 1, 2017," the ministry said, while responding to the NAREDCO's letter.

NAREDCO President Parveen Jain said the prohibition on advertisements and sale in the ongoing projects will hit the industry.

As per the Act, Section 3 (1) specifies that "no promoter shall advertise, market, book, sell or offer for sale, or invite persons to purchase in any manner any plot, apartment or building...,in any real estate project or part of it, in any planning area, without registering the real estate project with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority established under this Act."

For the ongoing projects, this section provides that the promoter should make an application to the authority for registration of the project within a period of three months from the date of commencement of this Act.

Ending the 9-year long wait, the real estate law, which will regulate the realty sector involving over 76,000 companies, came into force from May 1, 2017.

With all the 92 Sections of the Act coming into effect, developers are required to get all the ongoing projects that have not received completion certificate and the new projects registered with regulatory authorities within three months, ending July.

This would enable the buyers to enforce their rights and seek redressal of grievances after such registration.

Source: ETRealty

20 lakh houses for urban poor approved: Naidu

Delhi/NCR

The construction of over 20 lakh affordable houses for urban poor in 4,720 cities and towns has been approved under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (Urban) launched two years ago, Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on June 19.

The scale of housing activity has picked up in the three years of the Narendra Modi government, the minister said while participating in a foundation laying ceremony for 1,09,000 houses under the Yojna in Andhra Pradesh's Vijaywada town.

The significance of this scale of housing activity is marked by the fact that the previous UPA regime had approved the construction of only 13,82,768, houses during its 10-year rule, he said.

"If something done in 10 years by others could be achieved in just under three years, I think it is good enough evidence on ground of being a government with a difference," the minister was quoted as saying in a statement.

Naidu termed the goal of ensuring housing for all by 2020 as a "challenging task" and expected the political and administrative leaderships in the states and city governments to rise to the occasion.

"The Central government has done all that it could do in the form of putting in place an enabling ecosystem and will fulfill its commitment of central assistance," he said.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu attended the function.

Source: Economic Times, Delhi/NCR

Sikka group raises Rs 230 crore to complete 3 housing projects

Noida, Realty firm Sikka group has raised Rs 230 crore as debt to complete its three housing projects in Noida. The Delhi-based real estate firm is developing over 3,300 housing units in these three projects. With demand slowdown in the property market, cash-starved real estate developers in the Delhi-NCR are raising fund from banks and private equity players to complete their projects and handover housing units to customers. Earlier this month, RG Group raised Rs 170 crore from a private equity firm for its housing project in Noida. Sikka group has raised Rs 230 crore debt from a leading bank and the fund would be utilised towards speeding up the construction of the three projects.

“Partial disbursement of the funds has been done recently and the remaining instalments would soon follow,” Sikka Group director Gurneet Singh Sikka said. The company would complete construction of over 3,300 flats, comprising 45 lakh sq ft of saleable area, using this fund, he added. The company is developing two projects on Noida Expressway totalling 2,950 flats. The construction work on these two projects is at advanced stage and delivery will start in the last quarter of this year. It is developing another 5-acre project in Noida with 364 dwelling units. “Our focus has always been to deliver on whatever we promise to our customers. We are also planning to raise funds for our other projects so that we can deliver them on time as well,” he said.