Realtors seek loan restructuring; tax sops in upcoming Budget

New Delhi: Faced with acute slowdown in demand and delay in delivery of projects, realtors' apex body Naredco on Wednesday demanded tax sops for affordable homes and restructuring of bank loans.

As part of its pre-budget recommendation to the government for revival of the sector, National Real Estate Development Council (Naredco) has sought infrastructure status for the housing sector, industry status of the entire real estate sector, which would help the developers to get bank loans at less interest.

"We have submitted our pre-budget memorandum to the finance ministry and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation. We have demanded infrastructure status for housing and single-window approval for realty projects," Naredco President Parveen Jain told reporters here.

The single-window approval for projects would help the developers in completing the projects on time, he added.

With sluggish sales affecting liquidity of the developers, Naredco's Navin Raheja said the developers should be given moratorium for repaying bank loans.

To boost affordable housing, the association demanded that the Sec 80 IB (10) should be reintroduced in the upcoming budget for 2016-17 fiscal.

This section allowed 100 percent exemption of income tax on housing projects with a maximum built up area of 1,000 sq ft in Delhi and Mumbai, and 1,500 sq ft in other places.

"All affordable housing projects as defined in Prime Minister Awas Yojna should be brought under 80IB (10)," Raheja said, adding that about 2 crore homes need to be developed by 2022.

He expected that the proposed real estate regulatory law would boost customers confidence and repair the relation between developers and buyers.

Naredco President Jain said the real estate sector has the potential to turn around the economy and contribute to the growth of the country because of its backward and forward linkages with other sectors and huge job potential.