TN urged to rework land registration fee

The Chennai chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) on Tuesday, sought the intervention of the TN government following the revision in the guideline value and the hike in registration charges. At a meeting held here, members of the industry body highlighted the adverse impact the new developments could have on the real estate sector.

The state government had recently slashed the guideline value by 33 per cent. However, the registration fee was hiked by 3 per cent to compensate the revenue loss to the government incurred in the wake of the reduction in the guideline value. This hike has been viewed as a deterrent to the growth of the industry as experts say the amount home buyers in TN will cough up as registration fees will be the highest in the country.

Suresh Krishn, President, CREDAI Chennai said, “We welcomes the government’s move to reduce the guideline value by 33 per cent as the guideline value is much higher than the market value. However, by increasing the registration charges, the benefits which were being availed through lowering of the guideline value have been neutralised. We have asked the government to reconsider the steep increase in registration charge which has now been increased from 1 pc to 4 pc and is the highest in the country. It will have a negative impact on the business and the customers. We have appealed to the government to roll back the registration charges to 1 pc.” Krishn also drew attention to the prevailing crisis of shortage of river sand, an important component in the construction process. He said, “The realty sector could experience huge losses due to delay in project completion, owing to the unavailability of river sand. A cubic foot of river sand which used to cost around Rs 35 to 40 is now costing around Rs 100 to 120. Hundreds of construction workers now remain idle as they are unable to find employment with developers due to this issue. The industry will incur significant losses if the situation prevails.” When probed about the impact of GST on the realty market, Krishn said, “The realty sector will be the only one which will undergo double taxation. We have approached the Centre on this matter and are awaiting their response to our queries shortly.”