THE REAL ESTATE (REGULATION AND DEVELOPMENT) ACT, 2016

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 which seeks to protect home-buyers as well as help boost investments in the real estate industry.

Coverage of this act:-

Ø The Real Estate Act makes it mandatory for all commercial and residential real estate projects where the land is over 500 square meters, or eight apartments, to register with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) for launching a project, in order to provide greater transparency in project-marketing and execution

Ø For on-going projects which have not received completion certificate on the date of commencement of the Act, will have to seek registration within 3 months. Application for registration must be either approved or rejected within a period of 30 days from the date of application by the RERA. On successful registration, the promoter of the project will be provided with a registration number, a login id and password for the applicants to fill up essential details on the website of the RERA. For failure to register, a penalty of up to 10 percent of the project cost or three years' imprisonment may be imposed.

PROTECTION OF BUYERS

Ø The Act prohibits unaccounted money from being pumped into the sector and as of now 70 per cent of the money has to be deposited in bank accounts through cheques.

Real Estate Regulatory Authority and Appellate Tribunal

It will help to establish state-level Real Estate Regulatory Authorities (RERAs) to regulate transactions related to both residential and commercial projects and ensure their timely completion and handover. Appellate Tribunals will now be required to adjudicate cases in 60 days as against the earlier provision of 90 days and Regulatory Authorities to dispose of complaints in 60 days while no time frame was indicated in earlier Bill.

Certain areas to be exempted from the RERA

Ø The Real Estate Act makes it mandatory for all commercial and residential real estate projects where the land is over 500 square meters, or eight apartments, to register with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) for launching a project, in order to provide greater transparency in project-marketing and execution. Where the area of land does not exceed to 500 square meters or the no. of apartments does exceed to be developed.

Ø Provided that: If the appropriate government considers it necessary, it may, reduce the threshold below five hundred square meters or eight apartments, as the case may be.

Ø Promoter has received the completion certificate for real estate project prior to commencement act.

REAL ESTATE REGULATORY AUTHORITY

Ø  Authority is established and incorporated under section 20. According to section u/s 35 Authority has power to take sue motto complaints and inquire against information and conduct the enquiry or invest on that matter. Authority can take cognizance on the sue motto if they necessary to so.

Ø According to section 36 interim order cabs are passed by the authority. 

Ø  Authority can be issue direction u/s 37.

Ø Authority has power u/s 38 to impose the penalty or interest.

Ø Authority has power to rectify its order any time within a period of 2years from the date of order made u/s 39.

If somebody does not agree to the direction or order of Authority then that person can file an appeal under REAL ESTATE APPELATE TRIBUNAL.

REAL ESTATE APPELATE TRIBUNAL

Ø REAL ESTATE APPELATE TRIBUNAL is established under section 43. As per s.43 (5) appeal of promoter would be entertained only on depositing at least 30% of the penalty on higher percentage determined by the appellate tribunal.

Ø As per section 44(5) appellate authority should be endeavor to dispose off the appeal within a period of 60days from the date of receipt.

Ø As per section 58 appeals can be filled against Appellate Tribunal within 60 days of communication of the order of the Appellate tribunal. In case of delay adequate reasoning is required.

OFFENSES AND PENALITIES

Ø As per section 59(1) punishment for non registeration u/s 3 for promoter would be penalty which may extend up to 10% of the estimated cost of the Real Estate Project as determined by the Authority.

Ø As per s.59(2) if the order passed u/s 59(1) is not complicated then promoter shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extended up to 3yrs or with fine which extend to further 10% of the estimated cost of the project.

Ø As per s.60 the penalty for contravention of s4. of promoter would be penalty which may extend up to 5% the estimated cost of the Real Estate Project as determined by the Authority.

Ø As per the s.61 penalty for the contravention of provision of this act and rules other than s.3 and s.4 for the promoter shall be a penalty which may extend to 5% of the estimated cost of the real estate project as determined by the authority

Ø As per s.62 non registration and contravention u/s 9 and 10 done by Real estate agent, in such case he shall be liable to a penalty of rs10000 for everyday during such default continues, which may cumulatively extend up to 5%of the cost of the plot, apppartment or building, as the case may be, of the Real estate project, for which the sale or purchase has been facilitated as determined by the authority.

Ø As per s.63 penalty for failure to comply with the order of Authority would be penalty for everyday during which such default continues, which may cumulatively extend up to 5% of the real estate project as determined by the authority

Ø As per s.64 punishment for contravention of order of Appellate Tribunal by promoter shall be imprisonment for term which may extend up to 3yrs or fine for everyday during which such default continues, which may cumulatively extend up to 10% of the estimated cost of the real estate project or with both.

Ø As per s.65 penalty for failure to comply with order of the Authority by the real estate agent shall be a penalty for everyday during which default continues, which may cumulatively extend up to 5% of the estimated cost of plot, apartment or building or the case may be.

Ø As per s.68 punishment for the failure to comply with order of Authority by allottee shall be imprisonment for a term which may extend up to one year or with fine for everyday during which default continues, which may cumulatively extend up to 10% of the plot or with both

Ø As per the compounding of offences can be done either before or after institution of prosecution before court and any payments of sum shall not in any case, exceeded the maximum amount of the fine which may be imposed for the offense so compounded.

Ø As per section s.80 cognizance of offence can be taken by court on a complaint in writing made by the authority or by any officer of the authority duly authorized by it for this purpose.

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How to Apply for a New GST Registration

If you are a regular dealer or a composite tax payer, you need to do the following for GST registration:

1.    Fill Part-A of Form GST REG-01. Provide your PAN, mobile number, and E-mail ID, and submit the form.

2.    The PAN is verified on the GST Portal. Mobile number, and E-mail ID are verified with a one-time password (OTP).

3.    You will receive an application reference number on your mobile and via E-mail.

4.    Fill Part- B of Form GST REG-01 and specify the application reference number you received. Attach other required documents and submit the form. Following is the list of documents to be uploaded –

5.    Photographs: Photographs of proprietor, partners, managing trustee, committee etc. and authorized signatory

6.    Constitution of taxpayer : Partnership deed, registration certificate or other proof of constitution

7.    Proof of principal / additional place of business :

8.    For own premises – Any document in support of the ownership of the premises like latest property tax receipt or Municipal Khata copy or copy of electricity bill.

9.    For rented or leased premises – copy of rent / lease agreement along with owner’s (landlord) documents like latest property tax receipt or Municipal Khata copy or copy of electricity bill.

10.                       Bank account related proof : Scanned copy of the first page of bank pass book or bank statement

11.                       Authorization forms: For each authorized signatory, upload authorization copy or a copy of resolution of managing committee or board of directors in the prescribed format.

12.                       If additional information is required, Form GST REG-03 will be issued to you. You need to respond in Form GST REG-04 with required information within 7 working days from the date of receipt of Form GST REG-03.

13.                       If you have provided all required information via Form GST REG-01 or Form GST REG-04, a certificate of registration in Form GST REG-06 will be issued within 3 days from date of receipt of Form GST REG-01 or Form GST REG-04.

14.                       If the details submitted are not satisfactory, the registration application is rejected using Form GST REG-05

Casual Registration

A person who occasionally supplies goods and/or services in a territory where GST is applicable but he does not have a fixed place of business. Such a person will be treated as a casual taxable person as per GST.

Example: A person who has a place of business in Bangalore supplies taxable consulting services in Pune where he has no place of business would be treated as a casual taxable person in Pune.

Composition Dealer

This is an option available to small businesses and taxpayers having a turnover less than Rs. 50 lakhs. They can opt for Composition scheme where they will tax at a nominal rate of 1% or 2.50% (for manufacturers) CGST and SGST each (rates will be notified later).

They will be required to maintain much less detailed records and file only 1 quarterly return instead of three monthly returns. However, they cannot issue taxable invoices, i.e., collect tax from customers, but are required to pay the tax out of their own pocket. They cannot also claim any input tax credit.

Composition levy is available to only small businesses. It is not available to interstate sellers, e-commerce traders, and operators.

Applicability

GST will apply when turnover of the business exceeds Rs 20 lakhs (Limit is Rs 10 lakhs for the North Eastern States). [Earlier the limit was Rs 10lakhs and Rs 5lakhs for NE states.]

Migration to GST

All existing Central Excise and Service Tax assessees and VAT dealers will be migrated to GST. To migrate to GST, assessees would be provided a Provisional ID and Password by CBEC/State Commercial Tax Departments.

Provisional IDs would be issued to only those assessees who have a valid PAN associated with their registration. An assessee may not be provided a Provisional ID in the following cases:

1.    The PAN associated with the registration is not valid

2.    The PAN is registered with a State Tax authority and Provisional ID has been supplied by the said State Tax authority.

3.    There are multiple CE/ST registrations on the same PAN in a State. In this case, only 1 Provisional ID would be issued for the 1st registration in the alphabetical order provided any of the above 2 conditions are not met.

The assessees need to use this Provisional ID and Password to login to the GST Common Portal (https://www.gst.gov.in) where they would be required to fill and submit the Form 20 along with necessary supporting documents.

Penalties for Not Registering Under GST

An offender not paying tax or making short payments has to pay a penalty of 10% of the tax amount due subject to a minimum of Rs.10,000. The penalty will be high at 100% of the tax amount when the offender has evaded i.e., where there is a deliberate fraud.

However, for other genuine errors, the penalty is 10% of the tax due.

Multiple Registrations Under GST

A person with multiple business verticals in a state may obtain a separate registration for each business vertical.

PAN is mandatory to apply for GST registration (except for a non-resident person who can get GST registration on the basis of other documents).

A registration which has been rejected under CGST Act/SGST Act shall also stand rejected for the purpose of SGST/CGST act.

We, "PNJ Legal Consultants" are one of the well known organizations engaged in providing Consultancy Services keeping in mind the Client Service Mentality.

We have a team of highly qualified professionals and time to time training is provided by us as per the requirements. Our team members deliver excellent performance in providing these services and our clients can avail the services at affordable prices.

Our sophisticated team has complete knowledge of various exercises and technicalities that are used in our services. Our services includes Strategy Consulting, GST Consulting, Asset Management, Feasibility Study, International Arbitration, Due Dilligence, Franchisee Consulting, Financial Audits, Operational Audits, Tax Heaven Registrations, Shareholder Agreements, Start up Consulting, IP Consulting, Taxation Services, Accounting system design and Mergers Acquisitions.

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Composition Scheme Rules under GST

Composition Scheme Rules under GST provide for all the procedural compliance w.r.t. intimation for Composition Scheme, effective date for levy, conditions and restrictions on levy, validity of levy and rate of tax.

The current state indirect tax regime has provided a simpler compliance for small dealers known as the Composition Scheme. Under this scheme you,

• Pay taxes only at a certain percentage of turnover
• File periodic returns only (usually on a quarterly basis)
• Have an option of not having to maintain detailed records or follow tax invoicing rules
• Are not allowed to take Input Tax Credit (ITC)
• Are not allowed to collect tax on sales

A. Intimation and Effective date for Composition Levy

1.   For persons already registered under pre-GST regime

Any person being granted registration on a provisional basis (registered under VAT Act, Service Tax, Central Excise laws etc) and who opts for Composition Levy shall file an intimation in FORM GST CMP-01, duly signed, before or within 30 days of appointed date. If intimation is filed after the appointed day, the registered person:

a) Will not collect taxes

b) Issue bill of supply for supplies

FORM GST CMP- 03 must also be filed within 60 days of exercise of option:

a) Details of stock

b) Inward supply of goods received from unregistered persons held by him on the date preceding the day of exercise of option.

2. For persons who applied for fresh register under GST to opt scheme

For fresh registration under the scheme, intimation in FORM GST REG- 01 must be filed.

3. Registered under GST and person switches to Composition Scheme

Every registered person under GST and opts to pay taxes under Composition Scheme, must follow the following:

a) Intimation in FORM GST CMP- 02 for exercise option

b) Statement in FORM GST ITC- 3 for details of ITC relating to inputs lying in stock, inputs contained in semi-finished or finished goods within 60 days of commencement of the relevant financial year

b. Conditions for a Composite Tax Payer

Apart from the threshold limit, the following conditions are applicable for a composite tax payer:

• Cannot be engaged in supply of services, other than supply of food or drinks for human consumption
• Cannot be engaged in manufacture of specific notified goods
• Cannot supply goods not taxable under GST
• Cannot supply goods through an e-commerce operator
• No Interstate outward supplies – A composite tax payer should not engage in interstate outward supply of goods and / or services .
• Payment of composition tax – If the composite tax payer is in the trade of supplying goods and services, then composition levy will be applicable for both supply of goods and supply of services.
• Does not have to collect tax – The composite tax payer does not have to collect tax on all his outward supply of goods and / or services.
• Applicable for all business verticals under the same PAN – Composition levy will be applicable for all business verticals operating within state or interstate under the same pan.
• What does this mean?
• An individual with different business verticals, like:
• Mobiles & Accessories
• Stationery
• Franchisee

In the above scenario, the composition scheme will be applicable for all three business verticals. The dealer cannot opt for any one business vertical to fall under the composition scheme. For example, if the business vertical’s place of business is in Karnataka & Kerala for a single PAN, each of the business vertical in that particular state should have only ‘Intra-State(within state)’ supplies.

• Cannot claim Input Tax Credit – The composite tax payer is not eligible to claim input tax credit on all his inward supply of goods and / or services.
• What does this mean?
• If a dealer chooses to be a composite tax payer, he cannot claim input tax credit even if he makes taxable purchases from a regular taxable dealer. Ideally, the taxable amount would be added to the composite tax payer’s cost.
• Conclusion

Any person who opts for the scheme will be deemed to have been opted for all the places of business having the same registered PAN. Hence, you may not choose any one of all the place of business to be registered under scheme.

Composition Scheme Rules under GST have been targeted to be strict and crisp for the persons availing the Composition Scheme.

We, "PNJ Legal Consultants" are one of the well known organizations engaged in providing Consultancy Services keeping in mind the Client Service Mentality.

We have a team of highly qualified professionals and time to time training is provided by us as per the requirements. Our team members deliver excellent performance in providing these services and our clients can avail the services at affordable prices.

Our sophisticated team has complete knowledge of various exercises and technicalities that are used in our services. Our services includes Strategy Consulting, GST Consulting, Asset Management, Feasibility Study, International Arbitration, Due Dilligence, Franchisee Consulting, Financial Audits, Operational Audits, Tax Heaven Registrations, Shareholder Agreements, Start up Consulting, IP Consulting, Taxation Services, Accounting system design and Mergers Acquisitions.

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7 Vaastu tips for a Successful Business

Vaastu Shastra or Vastu is an ancient Indian way of arranging layout of your office, home or business in a way that will yield a beneficial result for the owner. Vastu Shastra works by balancing the five basic elements of nature fire, water, space, air and Earth. Following these ancient principles of Vastu Shastra can indeed help your business succeed.

Here are 7 important Vastu tips for your business.

1.    Your office building can face north, north-east or north-west directions. Having a building facing these directions brings good luck and positive energy.

2.    Main entrance should always face north or east, never place anything obstructing the main entrance as it also obstructs good luck and fortune.

3.    Central part of the building should be empty, private business rooms must be in Northeast corners.

4.    Placing an aquarium with one black fish and nine goldfish in the north-east direction can boost your business.

5.    Desks and other objects in the office should be either squares or rectangles. Never choose irregularly shaped furniture as it may create confusion and obstruct fortune.

6.    Your accounts departments must be in north-east part of the office and all the financial transactions should be done facing either East or North.

7.    Office of the owner should be in North-West direction, do not place temple or any other idols in this position.

Achieve Financial Success with Vastu Shastra:  Vastu Shastra affects every aspect of your business, from attracting new customers to increasing sells and staff productivity, Vastu Shastra can truly bring amazing results.  Vastu Shastra is indeed a true science, based on ancient principals of architecture and construction- which still stands true today.

To achieve financial success in your business following these Vastu Shastra principals might be helpful.

·        North is ruled by Kuber- the Indian lord of wealth, thus any business facing this direction is destined to make financial benefits, It is also important to keep your office obstacle free, as placing an obstacle in the north will also hinder the flow of wealth from the north and make your business suffer.

·        Safes and vaults should never be placed direction facing south, as this would lead to unfortunate expenses in the business. You can create safes and vaults in the centre to avoid any unconventional expenses and loss.

·        Water is associated with wealth. Keeping a fountain will increase the flow of water and wealth associated with it.

·        Increase the amount of plants in your office, as they will increase the indoor air quality and also stop money from flowing out of your office.

·        Electronic wiring should always be kept in the southern area of the building.

If you are starting a new business don’t forget to follow these simple Vaastu for business tips as Applying these simple Vastu Shastra tips will keep your business out of debts, prevent money shortages and increase cash flow.It will also help your business grow quickly and attract more customers.  However breaking or ignoring these rules may lead your business to serious debt, financial crisis, loss or bad luck.

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We, "PNJ Legal Consultants" are one of the well known organizations engaged in providing Consultancy Services keeping in mind the Client Service Mentality.

We have a team of highly qualified professionals and time to time training is provided by us as per the requirements. Our team members deliver excellent performance in providing these services and our clients can avail the services at affordable prices.

Our sophisticated team has complete knowledge of various exercises and technicalities that are used in our services. Our services includes Strategy Consulting, GST Consulting, Asset Management, Feasibility Study, International Arbitration, Due Dilligence, Franchisee Consulting, Financial Audits, Operational Audits, Tax Heaven Registrations, Shareholder Agreements, Start up Consulting, IP Consulting, Taxation Services, Accounting system design and Mergers Acquisitions.

Contact at parascs@gmail.com or refer website www.pnjlegal.com