The fourth meeting of the Group of Ministers on boosting the real estate sector held in Goa has decided no further exemption in GST should be granted on long-term lease of land by private entity and sector-specific exemption such as for tourism purposes.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant hosted the meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Tuesday, September 24, 2024.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Maharashtra Women, and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare, Gujarat Finance Minister Kanubhai Mohanlal Desai, his Kerala counterpart K.N. Balagopal, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, central government GST officials were among those who attended the meet.

A statement issued after the meeting said there were deliberations on various issues about the real estate sector.

“The issues pertaining to grant of GST (Goods and Services Tax) exemption on the long term lease of land by private entity and sector specific exemption such as for tourism purposes was discussed at length,” it said.

“The Group of Ministers unanimously agreed and recommended that no further exemption is required. GST at applicable rates will continue to be levied on the same,” the statement said.

“There were certain other issues pertaining to taxability of supply of construction services by co-operative housing societies to its members in a new project or redevelopment projects, which were discussed comprehensively,” the statement said.

“Various views emerged during the discussion and it was decided that these issues need to be deliberated further after obtaining the relevant data from the States,” it said.

It was also decided that the Committee of Officers shall examine all these issues after obtaining relevant information/data from the states before taking a final decision in the next GoM meeting.

On reviewing the value limit of ₹45 lakh for the definition of affordable residential apartment for a metropolitan region, it was decided that inputs from the States of Karnataka, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Delhi need to be taken to arrive at a consensus on the issue.

The issue related to determining the value of land for arriving at the value of construction services in case of sale of apartments has been deferred for further examination, the statement said.

The next meeting of GoM is likely to be held on October 25.

Source: The Hindu