Railway Minister Piyush Goyal asked banks to meet the real estate sector representatives within fourteen days to talk about the problems they’re facing.

 

He has also said that the GST rates will soon be decreased for the sector, which has been facing a slack in demand.

At the credai event, he said that there is a real problem which is being faced by the realty sector and that banks should take steps to look at the projects and fast track them.

He added that the group of ministers (GoM) under GST Council has worked on a mechanism for taxing real estate sector under the Goods and Service Tax.

“I hope you will like the final consensus of the GoM. In the next meeting of the GST Council soon, it would be discussed," Goyal said.

A state ministerial panel had last week supported the lowering of GST on under-construction residential properties to 5% from the current rate of 12%. It further supported bringing down the GST on affordable housing from 8% to 3%

Currently, GST is imposed at 12 per cent with an input tax credit on payments made for under-construction property or ready-to-move-in flats where completion certificate hasn’t been issued at the time of sale.

There have been negative feedbacks that builders are not passing on the ITC benefit to consumers by way of reduction in the price of the property after the arise of GST, following which the GST Council had set up a panel of ministers to suggest ways to boost the real estate sector.