The Madras High Court has ruled that the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) is not entitled to collect additional GST from flat purchasers after collecting the full flat cost, which is inclusive of the GST amount, as per the advertisements released during the time of entering into the agreement.
The ruling was given by Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy while allowing a batch of petitions challenging the notices issued to purchasers by the TNHB in 2024, forcing them to pay an additional GST of 5% of the total sale price of the flats. He ordered the board to execute the sale deed in favour of the petitioners who have paid the full cost calculated as per the advertisement rate and refund the additional 5% to those who have already paid that within eight weeks.
The purchasers who moved the court are those who bought 102 High Income Group (HIG) flats in Nandanam division of TNHB and 72 such flats in Anna Nagar division. They contended that in 2021, the rate was fixed at Rs 9,892 per square foot inclusive of GST in Nandanam and Rs 10,500 per square foot in Anna Nagar as per the advertisements and display boards in the site, but they were later forced to pay the additional GST before executing the sale deed.
TNHB’s counsel submitted that the cost per square foot included the 12% GST when contracts for construction were awarded and therefore, the advertisement reflected it.
However, the GST authorities later demanded an additional 5% GST from TNHB for its various projects, including the two covered in this case. The notice demanded TNHB to pay a total Rs 101 crore. He said a writ petition against this demand notice is pending in the HC.
The judge, in his order on Tuesday, reasoned that the TNHB cannot force the purchasers to foot the additional GST and it has to instead pay from its own accounts.
“Firstly, it can be seen that the tax liability now sought to be collected is 5% of the sale consideration. Already, 9% of the sale consideration is added as profit (of the board); therefore, even if there is any GST that is left out, that will only reduce the profit of TNHB to 4%. Thus, the argument relating to overriding public interest to wriggle out of the contractual obligation cannot be countenanced,” Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy said in the order.
‘Just a drop in profit’
The judge, in his order, said, “Already, 9% of the sale consideration is added as profit (of the board); therefore, even if there is any GST that is left out, that will only reduce the profit of TNHB to 4%.”
Source: The New Indian Express
