27 May 2010
As per budget 2010, Before the completion of the construction of commercial or residential property AND receipt of the completion certificate from the concerned authorities, if the builder receives any payment as advance (either in part or full) for the proposed office/flat. Then such sale shall be subject to service tax. But in majority of cases estate developers receive completion certificate very late or sometimes they don’t even take the completion certificate, leading to a situation wherein, all of the agreements with customers could attract service tax. The query is that whether Occupation Certificate (OC) can be treated at par with completion certificate OR completion certificate is a must for the purpose of levy of service tax.
03 June 2010
This provision is quite draconian and may see much litigation. Suggestions on electricity connection etc have been given to be considered.