The realty sector, which is striving to recover from the coronavirus induced lockdown and the economic downturn, has made a long wish list for Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to include in her annual budget for 2022-23. They have made a strong case for the reintroduction of subvention schemes helping the homebuyers to align their payments and encouraging them to take a decision on home buying.
‘’The cap of Rs 2 lakh per annum against interest rate deduction needs to be hiked to at least Rs 5 lakh along with removing the Rs 45 lakh cap from affordable housing, which will boost the affordable and mid-segment housing in a big way,’’ said Sandeep Runwal, President, NAREDCO Maharashtra. He said the Centre in a bid to further promote affordable rental housing schemes needs to announce tax reliefs.
‘’We expect the Government to introduce tax sops for first-time homebuyers and look forward to re-introducing GST with an input tax credit on under-construction properties that will generate demand among homebuyers. There is a specific need for tax relief to spur significant real estate growth, along with single window clearance and lowering of home loan interest rates that will definitely go a long way in improving the market sentiments,’’ said Runwal.
On the other hand, CREDAI MCHI Honorary Secretary Pritam Chivukula said the realty sector looks at a multi-dimensional approach focused on the availability of improved & low-cost credit, forward-looking FDI inflow which allows foreign investment in completed housing, and inclusive participation in the start-up ecosystem through a dedicated fund focused on real estate innovations and digitization could go a long way in making the sector excel in 2022. ‘’Additionally, developers are hoping for provisions that will benefit the growth that includes the deduction of loss under house property, reduction in the income tax burden on rental housing and long-term capital gains on capital assets, relaxations in provisions for REITs for faster recovery in commercial real estate,’’ he added.
According to The Guardian Real Estate Advisory Chairman Kaushal Agarwal, the industry status be accorded to the real estate sector as a while as currently it has been given only to affordable housing. ‘’Deviation of 20% from circle rates should be extended across the sector and not limited to homes costing up to Rs.2 crores. The same will allow developers to offload the massive build-up of unsold inventory costing more than Rs.2 crores. Currently, the major part of the unsold inventory is ready-to-move-in and falls in the luxury category,’’ he noted.
