Torbit Budget 2023 Wish List

Niranjan Hiranandani, Founder & MD, Hiranandani Group & Vice Chairman, NAREDCO

Industry pegs hope on tax harmonisation for home buyers, infrastructure status to real estate for cheap long-term fundingRental housing policy needs to be finalised , income tax deduction on full interest on home loans should be allowed , loan to value ratio be raised to 90% and project time limit be increased to 5 years to help  boost Housing for All.  Moreover, long-term capital gains tax for real estate should be brought down from 3 years to 1 year, at par with equity.

Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO India, SE Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE

 Inorder to boost real estate sector, the budget should reduce tax rate for LTCG from 20% and holding period be brought down from 24 months 12 months.Besides, the cap of Rs 2 crore on capital gains  for investing in two properties be removed. ECB framework be relaxed and ambiguity with regard to acquisition of  land for affordable housing projects be removed. There is a case for enhancing the SWAMIH Fund outlay to Rs 50000 crore.

Dhruv Agarwala, Group CEO, Housing.com, PropTiger,com and Makaan.com

To sustain the strong housing sales of 2022, the real estate sector needs fiscal support in the budget. Interest subsidy to first time home buyers be extended and  hike in tax incentives for both principal and interest paid on home loans  by borrowers should be considered. Also to ensure that installed housing projects get completed , the corpus of SWAMIH Fund should be substantially increased.

Anuj Puri, Chairman, Anarock Group 

There is an express need for more tax sops for home buyers as well as investors. The government needs to provide incentives to boost affordable housing supply by private players. Since the positive correlation of infrastructure development with all the real estate asset classes is well established, the government should be giving further boost to infrastructure spending. Price band of affordable homes should be revised to align with market dynamics of different cities.

Kamal Khaitan, Chairman & MD, Sunteck Realty

This year’s budget should support  realty growth by providing tax relief to home buyers. In order to further boost consumer sentiment, deduction on the principal amount of a home loan should be increased from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 4 lakh per annum. Additionally, to encourage housing for all, the government should consider increasing the limit of tax deduction on interest for housing loans from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh per annum. Furthermore, for price stability  and to mitigate the risk of rising raw materials cost , input tax on GST should be reintroduced.

Sudhir Pai, CEO, Magicbricks.com

Since residential demand remains high and unmet, the upcoming budget presents a two-fold opportunity. Firstly to developers in delivering under-construction projects by providing access to affordable loans. Secondly, since increasing construction costs have pushed up property prices  by average 14% across cities, there is an opportunity to benefit both home buyers and developers alike, by increasing the price band for affordable housing. These provisions would unlock value for the residential sector and continue to fuel both demand and supply.

Pradeep Aggarwal, Founder & Chairman, Signature Global

The government should reconsider the loss set-off limit under the income tax head -house property. Earlier there was no such limit but in the 2017 Finance Act , the government restricted the amount of loss to up to Rs two lakh per year under the house property head which is allowed to be set off against income from other sources. This limit should be removed or enhanced to bring back investors and this will eventually  support  the rental housing market. To boost affordable and mid-segment housing, tax sops should be provided to home buyers.

Vikas Chaturvedi, CEO, Xnadu Realty 

In this year’s budget, we can hope for larger reforms ranging from readjusting tax slabs to increase disposable income , complete removal of income tax beneffit limits on the interest component of second homes, bringing GST rate of under-construction and ready to move homes at par, single window clearance, industry status to real estate sector and expanding the scope of affordable housing.

Amit Jain, Chairman & MD, Arkade Group

For the developers focusing on redevelopment projects, the double GST payment has been a major deterrent as it has led to cost escalation at a time when margins are already under pressure. This holds true in Mumbai and MMR where  several local and reputed developers are engaged in the redevelopment of old and dilapidated buildingsThe developer pays the GST firstly on the cost of construction without input tax credit and secondly when the area is delivered to existing residents at market price. Both these GST payments are absorbed by the developers. So, the 5% GST should be reversed to give a boost to redevelopment projects.