Monday 29 February 2016

India Union Budget 2016 : Incentives for Promoting Housing for All

With a view to incentivise affordable housing sector as a part of larger objective of 'Housing for All', it is proposed to amend the Income-tax Act so as to provide for hundred per cent deduction of the profits of an assessee developing and building affordable housing projects if the housing project is approved by the competent authority before the 31stMarch, 2019 subject to certain
conditions which inter alia, include:-
(i) The project is completed within a period of three years from the date of approval,
(ii) The project is on a plot of land measuring not less than 1000 sq. metres where the project is within 25 km from the

municipal limits of four metros namely Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai & Kolkata and in any other area, it is measuring not less than 2000 sq. metres where the size of the residential unit in the said areas is not more than thirty sq. metres and sixty sq. metres, respectively,
(iii) where residential unit is allotted to an individual, no such unit shall be allotted to him or any member of his family, etc
The existing provisions of section 80EE provide a deduction of up to 1 lakh rupees in respect of interest paid on loan by an individual for acquisition of a residential house property. This benefit is available for the two assessment years beginning on the
1st day of April 2014 and on the 1st day of April 2015.
In furtherance of the goal of the Government of providing 'housing for all', it is proposed to incentivise first-home buyers availing home loans, by providing additional deduction in respect of interest on loan taken for residential house property from any financial institution up to Rs. 50,000. This incentive is proposed to be extended to a house property of a value less than fifty lakhs rupees in respect of which a loan of an amount not exceeding thirty five lakh rupees has been sanctioned during the period from the 1st day of April, 2016 to the 31stday of March, 2017. It is also proposed to extend the benefit of deduction till the repayment of loan continues.
The deduction under the proposed section is over and above the limit of Rs 2,00,000 provided for a self-occupied property under section 24 of the Act.
These amendments will take effect from 1st April, 2017 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to the assessment year 2017-18 and subsequent assessment years.

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