As the parliament enters the budget session, out of its honeymoon period, here are few expectations from the members of India Inc.
Mr. M.R Jaishankar, CMD, Brigade Group
Firstly, the government must scrap the service tax on under-construction properties. From a buyers’ perspective, this tax adds significantly to the overall cost of the property.
Secondly, we hope for some concessions in affordable housing projects. The government hardly gives any incentives to the developers to be a part of affordable housing. We have more than 18 million housing shortage as of now and this cannot be addressed single-handedly by the government or any of their schemes. Unless there are some kind of incentives with regard to taxes and excise benefits to such projects, this segment will continue to be under-stressed by the providers whether private players or public players.
Thirdly, there is a dire need for an industry status for the realty sector. The government is yet to consider it. Once the realty sector comes gets the industry status it will be a priority sector for raising funds at a lower cost which eventually will transform into reduced sale price to the buyers.
Fourth, the RBI is also continuously increasing the repo rate from time-to-time in order to keep inflation under control but it is adversely impacting the real estate sector because EMIs are rising unabated.
Mr.R Nagaraj, President, CREDAI Karnataka
The new government, recently announced homes for everyone by 2020. However, to meet the ambitious expectation of the new government with a development agenda, the excise duty needs to be reduced. Construction costs are set to increase considerably in the near future, consequent to the increasing prices of raw materials. A case in point is the 15-20% hike in cement prices recently. Prices of other materials such as switches, cables etc.. have also risen.
If the focus is on infrastructure and development programs, industrialisation, education in rural areas and healthcare across the country, the economy is bound to grow. This will give rise to employment opportunities, jobs for graduates and better housing demands. Benefits will be seen in sectors like cement, steel, mining, granite, and painting leading to growth in about 220 industries.
The government wants to make this budget progressive than a free budget, which is very welcome.
