Dear Madam,
I am planning to purchase a site in Ramanshree Residency opposite Meenakshi temple on Bannerghatta road. The land comes under Gram Thana (VP) and is DC converted. BDA NOC is available dated October 2006. But BDA approval is not available and only Gottigere village panchayat has approved the layout. Is it sufficient to go ahead with this purchase in this case? After the formation of Greater Bangalore, will these layouts be regularised?
Chandrasekar

Dear Chandrasekar,
As the land is DC converted, you can get it registered, provided title is good and marketable. The lands will get regularised if you are covered by the Sakrama scheme, the application form of which, has a list of villages that are covered by the scheme.

Dear Madam,
 I purchased a flat from the builder. I had made the agreement on February 26, 2007, and registration on March 6, 2007. I have paid the entire amount to the builder, who said he would give me the possession letter on March 19. Now he is asking me to pay service tax of 5%. He did not mention anything about the service tax before agreement and till date. His sales manager said he received the notice yesterday. Then I spoke to his director who said the notice had come a fortnight back and was not finalised. I think the builder should have informed me before agreement and registration. What should I do now? Please advise.
Rajashree Mohapatra

Dear Rajashree Mohapatra,
The service tax is a statutory liability that gets passed on to the purchaser. You can consult a chartered accountant who will be able to guide you whether the tax is applicable in your case or not.

Dear Madam,
I recently entered into an agreement for sale with a reputed developer on Sarjapur Ring Road.
Now I have come to know that though the title deed is clear and the project is approved by BDA, neither has the khata been paid for the land nor the tax. At this juncture I have put off registering the flat and signing the sale deed till I get some clarity on this. What should I do? I believe khata on the developer’s name is a must before I can get it transferred to my name at a later date.
Sumithra

Dear Sumithra,
The khata of the flat in the original land owner’s name means that the flat has also been assessed to tax. It is better to get this document before registration. Otherwise it will be more difficult for you to get the khata changed in your name. However, it is not impossible and several flat owners have got this done for the first time themselves individually.

Dear Madam,
We have an ancestral property, a 35-year-old building measuring about 6,000 sq ft ( 60ft x 100ft ) approximately,  in our native place, ie, in the heart of the city of Hubli. The built-up area of our site is nearly 5,000.00 sq ft. At present, we have rented out the same for approximately Rs10,000 to 12,000. We are five brothers living jointly.
We have another 25 acres of cultivating land in our village that is also ancestral. The agricultural  income is about Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 p.a.(net). While my elder brother is looking after this property, I am working in a private firm as an accountant in Bangalore City. I am drawing a monthly gross salary of Rs 12,000 and the rest of my brothers are looking after the Hubli property. 
Can we reconstruct the whole building, ie, ground, 1st and 2nd floors for commercial shops as well as dwelling purpose for family members (keep five houses for ourselves and the rest for commercial purpose)? What financial sources can we utilise to construct a commercial complex cum residential house (for our purpose)? What are the legal aspects regarding getting the funds from bank or any other source?  Who should be in charge of this matter, ie, is a power of attorney needed, etc?
We are not income tax payees.
Basavaraj G A 

Dear Basavaraj G A 
Any one person can be in charge of remodelling the construction and getting the requisite sanctioned plan.
The title of the property will continue as it is now and will not alter after construction. If the land belongs to all of you jointly, you can effect a registered deed of sharing after the building is completed, showing your individual portions with proportionate undivided share in land. If there are formalities or documentation required by your bank, these should be also be understood. The income tax payment status or agricultural status does not matter.

Dear Madam,
I plan to buy a gramathana site ahead of Begur village. This piece of land is developed by a developer. The developer has erected a compound wall and some of the drainage work is in progress. He also claims that once the work at that site is completed, the rates will go up. He claims he has BDA NOC.
The builder says there is no registration possible at present. But I can buy the site from the developer after entering a power of attorney agreement which can be used to register the land later.
The developer agrees that there will not be any cost increase if the power of attorney agreement is made and I need to settle the full cost at the time of purchase.
Please advise me on the precautions I need to take before buying this site. The cost of the site is around Rs 7 lakh.
Kuruvila K P

Dear Kuruvila K P,
As registration is not possible, the power of attorney to sell in your favour cannot also be registered. This will create a problem when you want to register the sale deed at a later date. My advice is to check if the land can be regularised under the Sakrama Scheme. If yes, you can consider getting into the transaction at a later date. Otherwise your only other recourse is to take possession after entering into a sale agreement. This is a riskier alternative and you will have problems of enforcement in case of default, in the court, especially if it is opposed to public policy.

The author is a practising advocate specialising in real estate matters. You may e-mail your questions to 1.vatsala@gmail.com. Please mark your mail with `Legal Angle’ in the subject line. You may also write to us at: The Editor, Legal Angle, Deccan Herald, 75, MG Road, Bangalore - 560001.
Disclaimer: All the answers provided herein are of a general nature. It is advisable to get specific legal advice after furnishing detailed history of each individual case.