'Budget 2020 should have had second generation reforms for real estate'

By Lincoln Bennet Rodrigues

The Union Budget 2020 had very few measures for the real estate sector which is one of the major contributors to India’s GDP. Apart from the personal income tax relief and few sops for affordable homes, there have been pressing concerns in the real sector that have not been addressed. There was an urgent need to address the challenge of liquidity faced by the sector, especially after the NBFC crisis. The budget could also have revived the Input Tax Credit for housing sector to provide relief to developers and home buyers, where-in homes could have been made available at lower cost. Some of the other aspects that the government that could have been addressed in the budget are granting of industry status to the overall real estate sector and implementation of single window clearance. A key expectation was the restoration of income tax benefit on a second home which would have benefitted home buyers in a big way and also stimulated the real estate sector.

Going forward, we hope that the government takes more developer and investor-friendly initiatives for the betterment of the real estate market in the near future.

(The author is Founder and Chairman, Bennet & Bernard Group)