RERA registration deadline extended to Dec 31: Govt

Panaji: A delay in notifying the draft rules under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) and the absence of an online portal for receiving RERA applications from builders, has promoted the state government to extend the deadline for ongoing real estate projects to December 31.

This is the second time that the Goa government has relaxed the cut-off for projects that are yet to receive their completion or occupancy certificate to register with the RERA authority.

"The date for acceptance of applications from ongoing projects under RERA has been extended to December 31, with no penalty being levied till then," a senior government official said.

According to Section 59 (1) of the RERA Act, a builder who fail to register under Section 3 of the Act, which deals with registration, selling and marketing of new and ongoing projects, will be liable to pay penalty of 10-20% of the project's estimated cost. Realtors, are of the view that the extension is required because they have little time to register their projects if the rules are notified this month.

Officials with the directorate of municipal administration said that the absence of the online portal for applications was one of the reasons for the extension that will give realtors till December 31 to complete their projects apply for occupancy or completion certificates.

A Lok Sabha committee on subordinate legislation, called to deliberate over the implementation of RERA, has expressed concern over relaxation and dilution of RERA in various states, including Goa. The committee is chaired by BJP Lok Sabha MP Dilipkumar Mansukhlal Gandhi. "The committee express their dismay over the fact that even after a lapse of one year and two months, many of the states have not notified the Rules so far," the committee report said.

The committee went on to say that the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act was a "landmark reform" for the real estate sector and "its successful enactment largely depends upon the timely framing of the Rules under the Act by all the states".

The committee report, which was presented in the Lok Sabha on August 10, also said that Goa, Manipur and West Bengal had not provided any information to the committee.

The Union ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation has written two letters to Goa asking for the state to ensure that the rules are drafted and notified quickly.