Reaction on Budget by Realtors: Bijay Agarwal, MD, Salarpuria Sattva

The Finance Minister’s digitally presented budget strikes a good balance between growth and fiscal foresight for the Real Estate sector. With the recently hit COVID crisis and changing economic trends worldwide and in India, any additional tax burden due to such pandemic would have been a huge stress for the payers. With FM announcing no changes in tax and managing it at their own excellent planning and resources to provide relief to the pandemic-hit common man, MSME, business as well as to focus more on driving economic recovery, this has been an exceptional step taken towards the growth.

We welcome the proposed easing of InvITs (Infrastructure Investment Trusts)/REITs, which has immense potential for boosting global and domestic investors, thus increasing funds for the real estate sector. This increased ability to raise more debt capital will provide access to additional asset acquisition funds, which could lead to the rapid closing of lower-cost transactions.

The government has announced establishment of Asset reconstruction and management company for stressed assets of banks. An Asset Reconstruction Company and Asset Management Company will be set up to consolidate and take over the current stressed debt and then manage and dispose of the assets to Alternate Investment. This would only help in quicker resolution of non-performing assets.

The move of Tax exemption for notified affordable rental housing projects till FY 2022 and the additional deduction of interest of Rs.1.5 lakhs for loans taken on purchase of an affordable house, that has been extended for one more year, will set the growth trajectory of the segment and will be instrumental in fulfilling the Govt’s mission of ‘Housing for all’.”