Infra boost to help real estate sector; industry status not given

Visakhapatnam: The realty sector is hopeful that the thrust accorded to boosting infrastructure in the Union Budget for 2022-23 will help them to bounce back in 2022.

The sector, which was badly hit due to the prolonged spell of Covid-19 pandemic, is however, unhappy over not mentioning about rationalisation of GST and extending industry status despite representing it at various fora as part of the budget-making exercise. However, it has hoped that in future their request will be suitably considered along with their suggestion for extending soft loans as the construction field is the second largest employer after the agriculture sector.

Realty business which was badly hit in 2019 due to the outbreak of pandemic, showed signs of recovery in 2021 and the second wave again put question mark over market bounceback. The sector hopes that with sanction of lion's share of infrastructure projects to Andhra Pradesh and some mid-course corrections in policy initiatives as and when required will help it to bounce back.

Credai, the apex body for realty developers, has hailed the significance attached to infrastructure development by increasing capital expenditure by 35.4 per cent with an outlay of whopping Rs 7.5 lakh crore and resolve to improve Ease of Doing Business in FY23. Laying a highway of 25,000 km, promoting new multi modal logistic parks, earmarking Rs 48,000 crore for Prime Minister's Awas Yojana and PM Gati Shakti are some of the projects declared as of topmost priority.

"We hope Andhra Pradesh will get a good share in the allotment of funds for infrastructure development like expanding highway and early construction of Bhogapuram International Airport," Credai AP joint secretary P Koteswara Rao told Bizz Buzz on Thursday.

He said there is no mention of GST rationalisation like giving both options of paying 12 percent GST and later claiming reimbursement or paying 5 percent GST with no claim as an option. "We would have been happy had the demand for industry status been considered favourably," he pointed out.

Rao said during pre-budget exercise they had represented to the ruling establishment to increase cap on sft for affordable housing in metropolitan areas from 1,000 to 1300 sft to extend payment of one percent GST to encourage demand for buying by middle class people.

Describing 2002-23 as a year of hope, Builders' Association of India (BAI) general council member Kasi Visweswara Rao said they expect that emphasis on augmenting infrastructure and technological upgradation will help the construction sector.

Extension of benefits like loans without collateral security to MSMEs will help some of the realty developers, he said and hoped that the banks will extend their cooperation in sanctioning loans by not insisting on collateral security.