Showing posts with label Property Tax. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Property Tax. Show all posts

Sunday, 2 June 2013

Property sellers without permanent account number PAN face 20% tax deduction at source (TDS)

Property sellers without permanent account number PAN face 20% tax deduction at source (TDS)

Those selling immovable property without disclosing their permanent account number (PAN) are in for a tough time with the government mandating a 20% tax deduction at source (TDS) in such transactions.

The new rules that came into effect from Saturday require buyers of immovable property, other than agricultural land, to pay TDS of 1% of the deal size for transactions in excess of Rs 50 lakh.

The proposal, which was announced in the Budget, was notified recently by income tax (I-T ) department. The move is part of the government's drive to clamp down on black money in the system, with real estate transactions seen as a major source of generation of black money.

While the rules would result in a check on the "white" component of the transaction , as often sellers insist that a large part of the consideration be paid in cash to skirt the capital gains tax. In many cases, where the seller has undisclosed income, cash comes into play and the share can be as high as 50%. The deal size is also under reported to avoid stamp duty.

The I-T department is hoping that through the latest measure, at least some part of the cash economy would come under check, although it already has information of property transactions above Rs 30 lakh.


The rules notified on Friday require all buyers to deposit the 1% TDS electronically on the I-T department's website by filling a form online . Those without access to the online system can fill up the form and make the payment at an authorized bank branch. More details here

Related:

Pay more service tax on house costing over Rs 1 crore

Thursday, 9 May 2013

Pay more service tax on house costing over Rs 1 crore

Pay more service tax on house costing over Rs 1 crore



The finance ministry has tightened norms for application of lower rate of service tax on construction, dealing a blow to buyers purchasing houses above a certain size or value.

The Central Board of Excise and Customs, the apex indirect taxes body, has issued new norms that restrict lower service tax to only those houses that cost below Rs 1 crore and have carpet area less than 2000 square feet.

Service tax at the rate of 12% will be applicable on 25% of the total value of the residential unit (effectively 3%) on properties that meet these conditions.

If a housing unit is either more than 2000 square feet carpet area or costs over Rs 1 crore then the tax will be levied on 30% of the total value, says the CBEC notification, raising the effective tax to 3.6%.

Commercial properties will continue to attract higher incidence of tax, irrespective of size and value. The move comes at a time when the construction and the realty sector is already confronting lower off take and piled up inventory. The CBEC had earlier allowed application of the lower rate if any of the conditions was met.

Experts say absence of a definition of what constituted carpet area complicated the matters further. 

All under construction residential houses will face the new norm. As many as 4.5-5 lakh homes are expected to be delivered in 2013. More details here