SAHAKARSUTRA

Sahakarsutra Infoseries: Maintenance Charges levied by Co-operative Societies and the GST thereon : (Very Important). 1. Tax Rate: -  All the Co-operative Societies registered under GST laws are liable to collect GST on the  services provided by them to their members. The rate of tax is 18% to be charged separately under two headings namely; CGST @ 9% and SGST @ 9%.  2. Issue of Tax Invoice: -   The services include exempt services, zero rated services as well as other rated taxable services.  The Society has to issue “Tax Invoice” for taxable services and separate “Bill of Supply” for  exempt services rendered by society. Supply of zero rated services will be part of Tax Invoice.  3. Taxes on the Basis of RCM: -  A society is required to pay the GST on the basis of Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM) on the services such as legal services from Advocates, Transport Services from Good Transport Agency (GTA) and Inward supply of Goods or Services or both from unreg

RIGHT TO INFORMATION and  CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETIES Information plays an important role in shaping the life of every individual. With the enactment of the 97 th  amendment to the Constitution of India and its inclusion in Article 19 of the Constitution, formation of co-operative societies has become one of the fundamental rights of an Indian citizen. Besides, they have also been given the status of local self-government like rural and urban municipal bodies in Part 9 of the Constitution. Cooperative societies now have thus come under the ambit of the Right to Information Act, 2005.  Hence co-operative societies have now come under the ambit and scope of “public authority” defined under Section 2 (h) of the RTI Act, 2005. RELEVANCE OF RTI IN CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY Section 2(f) of Right to Information Act, 2005 states that " information" means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e- mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circu

Sahakarsutra Infoseries: Rules on funds of housing societies are laid down in the registered Bye-Laws listed below: 7a. entrance fees;7b issue of shares;7c.loans and subsidies;7d deposits;7e voluntary donations,7f. contribution towards cost of building/buildings;7g fee on transfer of shares, along with the occupancy rights,7h. premium on transfer of occupancy right over the flats;[As per G.R.]7i any other mode permitted under these bye-laws.8. Share capital of the Society12. Constitutions of Reserve Fund12i. The reserve Fund of the society shall comprise of :-12ia.Appropriation 149a12ia entrance fees12ia transfer fees12ia transfer premium12ia all donations13a. Creation of the repairs and maintenance fund by the Society13b.Creation of Major Fund by the Society13c.Creation of the Sinking Fund by the Society14a.Utilisation of the Reserve Fund14b. Utilisation of the Repairs and Maintenance Fund14c. Utilisation of the Sinking Fund67 Composition of the charges of the society68. Bre

Sahakarsutra Infoseries: How to Calculate Maintenance Charge of flats in Maharashtra? Maintenance charges or service charges are levied by all cooperative housing societies to cater for expenses incurred. The basis on which the society charges will be shared by each apartment unit is decided by the Cooperative Housing Society. As per the model bye-laws each housing society must follow a combination of per square feet and per flat basis for final calculation of the service charge for various heads. Let us take a look at various heads that constitute the maintenance charge and how the maintenance Charge is calculated as per MOFA guidelines. Common constituents of regular society charges Service Charges or Maintenance Charges:Service charges also known as basic maintenance charges are those charges that the cooperative housing society needs incurs towards procurement of various services, and are levied on per flat basis. Any individual owing more than one flat in an apartme

Sahakarsutra Infoseries: *Senior citizen benefits*  At 60, one is considered a senior citizen in India. Senior citizens are entitled to a multitude of financial benefits. While you can avail some benefits at 60, you also get some added benefits at 65. From time to time, the government offers senior citizens financial benefits to make their life easier. Here are a few benefits available to senior citizens in India. *1. Interest income*: Senior citizens are entitled to a *tax exemption of Rs. 50,000 for income from fixed deposits, post office interest and savings bank accounts*. *2. Health insurance premium*: Senior citizens get a tax exemption of Rs. 50,000 on health insurance premium under Section 80D. Exemption on medical expenditure for critical illnesses is Rs. 1 lakh for both senior citizens and super senior citizens. *3. Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY):* The PMVVY scheme was recently extended from March 2018 to March 2020. The investmen

Sahakarsutra Infoseries: How to recover dues from defaulters under Section 101. ------------------------------ ------------------------------ ------------ To make it easy for cooperative societies to recover amounts due by members exceptionally special provision/procedure has been introduced in the legal system of the State by inserting Section 101 in the M C S Act 1960. In case of housing societies the dues by its members are defined under registered Bye-Laws of every housing society for the sake of simplicity as “Society Maintenance Charges". A major portion of the Maintenance charges is the contribution to society funds earmarked for meeting various objects of the Society.  For example Building Repair fund is meant to ensure that buildings of housing societies the core assets are maintained in good order and in habitable conditions. It is one of the key objects of a housing society. Another fund is Sinking Fund and is towards meeting cost of structural modificat