SAHAKARSUTRA

The affordable housing segment is likely to get a boost, with the RBI raising the loan limits under priority sector lending and the government deciding to use surplus land of sick PSUs, for construction of such dwelling units In a statement on June 6, 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that it has decided to revise the housing loan limits for priority sector lending (PSL) eligibility from Rs 28 lakhs to Rs 35 lakhs in metropolitan centres and from Rs 20 lakhs to Rs 25 lakhs in other centres. The overall cost of the dwelling unit in metropolitan centres (with population of ten lakh and above) and at other centres, should not exceed Rs 45 lakhs and Rs 30 lakhs, respectively. “Big boost to Housing for All. Increase in home loan limits under priority sector lending to Rs 35 lakhs in cities and Rs 25 lakhs elsewhere, to make such bank loans cheaper,” financial services secretary Rajiv Kumar said, in a tweet, after the statement of the RBI. Loans given under PSL are less exp...

Eligibility for MHADA Lottery Scheme The applicant should be at least 18 years old. The applicant should have a Domicile Certificate, proving that s/he has stayed for 15 continuous years in Maharashtra. Income proof for the financial year (average monthly income, excluding reimbursable allowances like transport, medical, laundry allowance, etc.): Economically Weaker Section (EWS) – up to 25,000; Middle-Income Group (MIG) – Rs 50,001 to Rs 75,000; Lower-Income Group (LIG) – Rs 25,001 to Rs 50,000; High-Income Group (HIG) – Rs 75,001 and above. The applicant should have a PAN card Steps for applying for the MHADA Lottery Scheme The winners of the MHADA Lottery Scheme 2017 have already been announced. Interested applicants can follow these steps, to apply in the next editions: Step 1 Log on to the   MHADA Lottery Scheme  website. Step 2 Register yourself on the portal. For this, you need to create your username and fill basic information such as name, fami...

Home buyers will now be recognised as financial creditors under the insolvency law, with the government promulgating an ordinance President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to promulgate the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, according to an official release. “The ordinance provides significant relief to home buyers, by recognising their status as financial creditors. This would give them due representation in the Committee of Creditors (CoC) and make them an integral part of the decision-making process,” the release said. Further, home buyers would be able to invoke Section 7 of the IBC against errant developers. Section 7 allows financial creditors to file applications, seeking insolvency resolution process. The move also comes at a time, when many home buyers are facing hardships on account of delayed and incomplete real estate projects. According to the release, another major beneficiary would be the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSM...

The law regarding pets in housing colonies The moot question is whether there can be a lasting solution to the conflict between dog lovers and dog haters in a residential complex. R esidents should read the February 2015 circular regarding pet and street dogs ( http://www.awbi.org/awbi-pdf/pet_dog_circular_26_2_2015.pdf ) issued by the AWBI (Animal Welfare Board of India), Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of India. “According to it, RWAs cannot ask for the removal or dislocation of street dogs and neither can they levy fines on the owners of pet dogs. They can only request for their sterilisation and vaccination, so that their population growth is curbed, as per the Animal Birth Control Rules 2001, drafted under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of India. Societies can also distribute awareness literature to promote compassion towards animals and to sensitise people and promote harmonious coexistence of man and animals."  Ways to d...

Cooperative Banks under IT scanner The Income Tax (I-T) department is hauling up 62 branches of District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) and State Cooperative Banks (SCBs) in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region for persisting with weak internal controls. “This is the potential next step for the government for the success of the demonisation initiative, to roll out customer due diligence, record keeping and reporting requirement in the district central cooperative banks. The depa rtment has asked banks to compulsorily instal Finacle core banking system developed by Infosys for providing banks with core banking, e-banking and treasury solutions across branches. Many smaller banks don’t have the facility to aggregate the CIN from different branches leading to a duplication of customer or subscriber base. The banks have been either not doing due diligence or don’t have the software to aggregate CIN data from different branches of the same bank.

Income tax rules for cooperative housing societies Cooperative housing societies also fall under the ambit of income tax laws. We look at the tax rates, benefits available, procedure for filing returns and deduction of TDS that are applicable on housing societies As housing societies are not apparently engaged in any income earning activities, there is a perception that they are not required to comply with any income tax provisions. This impression is heightened by the fact that housing societies are managed by honorary office bearers, who are generally not well-versed with the laws. A housing society is a legal entity and therefore, is treated as separate from its members. It has to comply with various legal laws, including income tax laws. Section 2 (31) of the Income Tax Act states: All housing societies are registered under the cooperative society laws of their respective states. In Maharashtra, housing societies are registered under the Maharashtra Co-Operative Societie...

Non filing or Late filing of TDS returns or TDS statement shall invite 2 penal consequence 1.Fee for late filing U/s 234E and 2. Penalty for late filing or Non filing of TDS statement U/s 271H. Before understanding the penalty provisions for failure to furnish the statement of Tax Deducted at Source or statement of Tax Collected as Source (i.e. commonly known as TDS/TCS return) we shall first have a look at the few basic duties of a person liable to deduct/collect tax at source and due dates for filing of TDS/TCS return. Duties of the person liable to deduct/collect tax at source He shall obtain Tax Deduction Account Number or Tax Collection Account Number (as the case may be) and quote the same in all the documents pertaining to TDS/TCS. He shall deduct/collect the tax at source at the applicable rate. He shall pay the tax deducted/collected by him to the credit of the Government. He shall file the periodic TDS/TCS statements, i.e., TDS/TCS return. He shall issue the TD...