10 July,2009 10:59 AM IST | | Urmimala Banerjee
The Union Budget is a topic of heated debate. And it's also one that is beyond the understanding of the common man. Keeping this in mind, the Estate Agents Association of India (EAAI) held a seminar at Catholic Gymkhana, Marine Drive, to discuss the implications of the budget with relation to the housing industry.u00a0
The event brought together brokers, advocates, tax consultants, builders, etc. Yashwant Dalal, president, EAAI welcomed the discussion panel that had names like Anil Harish, panellist, Legal Pundit International Services; Vimal Punamiya, chartered accountant and housing society advisor; Vinod Sampat, advocate; Lalit Gandhi, chairman, Remaking of Mumbai Federation (ROMF) and Murari Chaturvedi, founder, Accommodation Times.
The first session of the seminar was conducted by Anil Harish who spoke on rationalising the tax structure and exemption clauses. Talking about Section 80 IB, Harish said that the clause of giving exemptions to builders who built flats less than 1,000 sq ft in area was complicated and needed amendments.
The current clause could not be understood by most builders who ended up getting disqualified for the exemption. He later spoke about personal tax exemptions, elimination of fringe benefit tax and increase in MAT with respect to corporates.
Vimal Punamiya endorsed the views of Harish and emphasised on the need to simplify the tax system. "We will propose to the finance minister to do away with Section 50C of the Income Tax Act as it affects both builders and buyers," he stated.u00a0
The above session was followed by a discussion on stamp duty amnesty schemes for flats, new bye-laws for co-operative societies, building redevelopment and Right to Information Act. "A builder shouldn't decide against redevelopment if only one-two families in an old building object to it.
The matter can be settled by arbitration," said Vinod Sampat speaking on old buildings redevelopment. He also threw light on conveyance issues saying that a buyer can get conveyance from a builder within 128 days under consumer laws.
urmimala.banerjee@mid-day.com
