GST, RERA good Acts, but implementation very poor, say builders

BENGALURU: The Builders’ Association of India (BAI) has come down hard on the Centre for not addressing their concerns on the need for reforms and regulatory mechanism in the construction sector.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, office-bearers of the Association claimed that despite repeated representations by them, no action had been taken.  Some of the issues they highlighted were delay in land acquisition by the government, high Goods & Services Tax (GST) rates, lack of regulatory authorities and improper implementation of the RERA Act. They urged the government to take note of the problems faced by them.

H N Vijaya Raghava Reddy, national president, BAI, said the government was in the habit of awarding tenders before land acquisition and would delay the verification of contractors’ documents. “GST and RERA are very good Acts but their implementation has been bad. The application for one of my projects was submitted a day late, and against a clause in RERA, I had to pay 100 per cent penalty.”

Cement cartelisation was another issue identified by BAI, with Reddy claiming that in the absence of any regulatory authority, cement manufacturing firms created artificial scarcity to inflate prices. He also claimed the 1 per cent Labour Welfare Cess that the government charged them, amounting to `40,000 crore in the country, was not being utilised for welfare of labourers as it was meant to be.
“People who invested in the build-operate-transfer projects are all bankrupt today, and yet the government is not concerned,” said B Seenaiah, chief patron, BAI.

All India Builders’

Convention from Jan 19 The 28th All India Builders’ Convention will be held at Clarks Exotica, Bengaluru from January 19 to January 21. The Convention will be flagged off by Vice-President of India M Venkaiah Naidu in the presence of Governor Vajubhai Vala and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Nine core issues

Single window clearance of real estate and infrastructure projects
Subcontractors are still levied 18 per cent GST
Land value deduction in GST should be based on actual land cost
Land acquisition issues
Cartelisation by cement manufacturers
Unfair contract conditions
Need to mobilise Labour Welfare Cess towards skilling labourers
Rationalisation of labour laws applicable to construction industry.
Relaxation of banking norms