New Delhi: The government's report on rationalising Goods and Services Tax (GST) for under-construction houses is likely to come soon, a senior official said on Wednesday.
A Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel is finalising the report. A senior government official said the GoM will submit the report to GST Council which is likely to meet on February 20.
The GST Council had constituted a seven-member GoM on January 15 to give a boost to the real estate sector under GST regime. It is learnt that the GoM panel has indicated 5 per cent GST on under-construction residential houses as demanded by the industry. However, input tax credit cannot be claimed.
According to Sanjay Dutt, Chairman of FICCI Real Estate Committee and Managing Director and CEO of Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd, "To reduce GST to 5 per cent from 12 per cent with input tax credit is the demand of industry."
There should be no GST on joint development agreement because projects will become unviable if high GST, stamp duty at the state government level and all other taxes are levied, he said.
Meanwhile, Manish Kumar Sinha, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Secretary of GoM on Real Estate under GST Regime, assured the industry that the government is doing its best.
Addressing an interactive session on 'Decoding Union Budget: A Real Estate Perspective' organised by the industry body FICCI, he urged industry leaders to strive to bring the entire sector under GST's purview.
