UNION BUDGET 2019: Incentive for affordable housing

In order to provide an impetus to the ‘Housing for all’ objective of the Government and to enable the home buyer to have low-cost funds at his disposal, it is proposed to insert a new section 80EEA in the Act so as to provide a deduction in respect of interest up to one lakh fifty thousand rupees on loan taken for residential house property from any financial institution subject to the following conditions:

(i) loan has been sanctioned by a financial institution during the period beginning on the 1st April, 2019 to 31st March 2020.

(ii) the stamp duty value of house property does not exceed forty-five lakh rupees;

(iii) assessee does not own any residential house property on the date of sanction of loan.

It is also proposed that where a deduction under this section is allowed for any interest, deduction shall not be allowed in respect of such interest under any other provisions of the Act for the same or any other assessment year.

This amendment will take effect from 1st April, 2020 and will accordingly apply in relation to assessment year 2020-21 and subsequent assessment years.

The existing provisions of the section 80-IBA of the Act, inter alia, provide that where the gross total income of an assessee includes any profits and gains derived from the business of developing and building housing projects, there shall, subject to certain conditions, be allowed, a deduction of an amount equal to hundred per cent of the profits and gains derived from such business.

With a view to align the definition of “affordable housing” under section 80-IBA with the definition under GST Act, it is proposed to amend the said section so as to modify certain conditions regarding the housing project approved on or after 1st day of September, 2019. The modified conditions are as under:

(i) the assessee shall be eligible for deduction under the section, in respect of a housing project if a residential unit in the housing project have carpet area not exceeding 60 square meter in metropolitan cities or 90 square meter in cities or towns other than metropolitan cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi National Capital Region (limited to Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Faridabad), Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai (whole of Mumbai Metropolitan Region); and

(ii) the stamp duty value of such residential unit in the housing project shall not exceed forty five lakh rupees;

These amendments will take effect from 1st April, 2020 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to assessment year 2020-21 and subsequent assessment years.

[Clauses 25 & 26]

Extract of Clauses 25 & 26 of Finance Bill 2019

25. Insertion of new sections 80EEA and 80EEB.

After section 80EE of the Income-tax Act, the following sections shall be inserted with effect 30 from the 1st day of April, 2020, namely:––

Deduction in respect of interest on loan taken for certain house property.

‘80EEA. (1) In computing the total income of an assessee, being an individual not eligible to claim deduction under section 80EE, there shall be deducted, in accordance with and subject to the provisions of this section, interest payable on loan taken by him from any financial institution for the purpose of acquisition of a residential house property.

(2) The deduction under sub-section (1) shall not exceed one lakh and fifty thousand rupees and shall be allowed in computing the total income of the individual for the assessment year beginning on the 1st day of April, 2020 and subsequent assessment years.

(3) The deduction under sub-section (1) shall be subject to the following conditions, namely:—

(i) the loan has been sanctioned by the financial institution during the period beginning on the 1st day of April, 2019 and ending on the 31st day of March, 2020;

(ii) the stamp duty value of residential house property does not exceed forty-five lakh rupees;

(iii) the assessee does not own any residential house property on the date of sanction of loan.

(4) Where a deduction under this section is allowed for any interest referred to in sub-section (1), deduction shall not be allowed in respect of such interest under any other provision of this Act for 45 the same or any other assessment year.

(5) For the purposes of this section,––

(a) the expression “financial institution” shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (a) of sub-section (5) of section 80EE;

(b) the expression “stamp duty value” means value adopted or assessed or assessable by 50 any authority of the Central Government or a State Government for the purpose of payment of stamp duty in respect of an immovable property.

26. Amendment of section 80-IBA.

In section 80-IBA of the Income-tax Act, with effect from the 1st day of April, 2020,—

(A) in sub-section (2), after clause (i), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:—

‘Provided that for the projects approved on or after the 1st day of September, 2019, the provisions 25 of this sub-section shall have effect as if for clauses (d) to (i), the following clauses had been substituted, namely:––

“(d) the project is on a plot of land measuring not less than—

(i) one thousand square metres, where such project is located within the metropolitan cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi National Capital Region (limited to Delhi, Noida, Greater 30 Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Faridabad), Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai (whole of Mumbai Metropolitan Region); or

(ii) two thousand square metres, where such project is located in any other place;

(e) the project is the only housing project on the plot of land as specified in clause (d);

(f) the carpet area of the residential unit comprised in the housing project does not exceed—

(i) sixty square metres, where such project is located within the metropolitan cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi National Capital Region (limited to Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Faridabad), Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai (whole of Mumbai Metropolitan Region); or

(ii) ninety square metres, where such project is located in any other place;

(g) the stamp duty value of a residential unit in the housing project does not exceed forty-five lakh rupees;

(h) where a residential unit in the housing project is allotted to an individual, no other residential unit in the housing project shall be allotted to the individual or the spouse or the minor children of such individual;

(i) the project utilises—

(I) not less than ninety per cent. of the floor area ratio permissible in respect of the plot of land under the rules to be made by the Central Government or the State Government or the local authority, as the case may be, where such project is located within the metropolitan cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi National Capital Region (limited to Delhi, Noida, Greater 50 Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Faridabad), Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai (whole of Mumbai Metropolitan Region); or

(II) not less than eighty per cent. of such floor area ratio where such project is located in any place other than the place referred to in sub-clause (I); and

(j) the assessee maintains separate books of account in respect of the housing project.”.’

(B) in sub-section (6), after clause (e), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:—

‘(f) “stamp duty value” means the value adopted or assessed or assessable by any authority of the Central Government or a State Government for the purpose of payment of stamp duty in respect of an immovable property.’.

Note on Clauses 25 & 26 of Finance Bill 2019

Clause 25 of the Bill seeks to insert a new sections 80EEA and 80EEB in the Income-tax Act relating to deduction in respect of interest on loan taken for certain house property and deduction in respect of purchase of electric vehicle.

The proposed new section 80EEA seeks to provide for deduction in respect of interest on loan taken for residential house property from any financial institution up to one lakh and fifty-thousand rupees subject to the conditions specified therein.

These amendments will take effect from 1st April, 2020 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to the assessment year 2020-2021 and subsequent assessment years.

Clause 26 of the Bill seeks to amend section 80-IBA of the Income-tax Act relating to deductions in respect of profits and gains from housing projects.

The provisions of the said section, inter alia, provide that where the gross total income of an assessee includes any profits and gains derived from the business of developing and building housing projects, there shall, subject to certain conditions, be allowed, a deduction of an amount equal to hundred per cent. of the profits and gains derived from such business.

It is proposed to amend the said section so as to provide that a housing project approved on or after the 1st day of September, 2019 shall be eligible for deduction under this section if the carpet area of the residential unit comprised in the housing project does not exceed sixty square metres, where the project is located within the Metropolitan cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi National Capital Region (limited to Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Faridabad), Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai (whole of Mumbai Metropolitan Region), or ninety square metres, where the project is located in any other place; and if the stamp duty value of a residential unit in the housing project does not exceed forty-five lakh rupees.

It is also proposed to amend the said section so as to define the expression “stamp duty value”.

This amendment will take effect from 1st April, 2020 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to the assessment year 2020-2021 and subsequent assessment years.