Real estate comes under the new indirect tax regime, exorbitant hike in land prices could be checked and the flow of black money curbed
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday wrote to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, demanding that the real estate sector be brought under the ambit of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
In a letter to Jaitley, Sisodia said if real estate comes under the new indirect tax regime, exorbitant hike in land prices could be checked and the flow of black money curbed.
Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio, said he has no hesitation in stating that "extraordinary political willpower will be required to take this step".
In the letter dated October 15, Sisodia has further stated that the move will also lead to availability of accurate record of every transaction and the input tax credit (ITC) drawn.
The minister has demanded that the matter of bringing the real estate sector under the GST regime be included in the agenda for the next GST Council meeting, to be held in Guwahati on November 9.
"My view is that if GST is implemented in all steps involved in development of real estate, then every recorded transaction will lead to tax input credit and exorbitant hike in land prices will be checked. The entire chain will remain intact and flow of black money in real estate could be curbed," Sisodia stated in the letter.
Since the implementation of GST in July, the Delhi Deputy CM has been demanding that the real estate sector be brought under it.
Delivering a lecture on India's tax reforms at the prestigious Harvard University in Washington, Jaitley had said that the one sector in India where maximum amount of tax evasion and cash generation takes place and which is still outside the GST was real estate.
"Some of the states have been pressing for it. I personally believe that there is a strong case to bring real estate under the GST," Jaitely added.
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