RERA Capital Gains Tax & GST on Real Estate Transactions (5th Edition)

RERA over the time, has grown both in terms of operation as well as in understanding of the provisions as a result of judicial interventions and clarifications. It has been our endeavour to provide information about the latest developments and this updated edition is an attempt in this direction. Generally, every legislation leaves certain lacunas, ambiguities and uncertainties which require a final elucidation clarifying the legislative intent by the highest judicial authority particularly with varying interpretations by authorities in different jurisdictions. RERA being a Central Act dealing with the subject which is generally in the domain of States and union territiories, has its own peculiarities, particularly in its application to cases having their origin prior to the coming into force of the Act. The Apex Court in a very recent decision in Nu Tech Promoters and Developers Ltd vs State of Uttar Pradesh commented that RERA, a new and dynamic law as it is, there are still lacunas and unanswered questions prevailing in the current regime and proceeded to answer several questions requiring a final view in the interest of certainty of the legal regime. The basic issue of the retrospective or prospective application of the Act has now the authoritative answer by the Apex Court when it said that the legislature enacted a retroactive statute which settled the matter as to the entertainability of complaints in respect of ongoing projects.

The ambiguity arising from the reading of section 31 and 71 in respect of the respective jurisdiction of the Regulating authority and the Adjudicating Officers has also been set at rest by the aforementioned decision of the Apex Court holding against the apparent overlapping jurisdiction of the two authorities. Other controversial issues like, the legality of single member of the Authority deciding the complaint, legality of section 43(5) requiring payment before filing appeal, and legality of recovery certificates in respect of the principal amount of refund payable by the promoters have also been decided by the Court.

RERA is proving itself to be an effective instrument of protection to the allottees.. The state of Maharashtra taking the lead, has, upto May, 2021 granted registration to 30252 projects, and decided 9092 complaints involving registered projects and 778 unregistered projects. Almost all the States have established the regulatory authority and the Appellate Tribunals and are moving forward in implementing the Act in its spirit. Although RERA is a Central Act, yet the Rules have been framed by the States. Taking note of the vital difference in the model builder-buyer agreement forming part of the Rules framed by the States which come in the way of uniform application of the Act, the Apex Court has opined that instead of leaving it to the States, it will be better if the Central advisory Council makes a model builder-buyer and builder-agent agreement for the sake of uniformity. The implementation of the recommendation will be a significant reform to look for.