Hit hard by closure of sub-registrar offices, realtors bat for e-registration facility

Bengaluru: Hit hard by the closure of sub-registrar offices due to the lockdown, real estate developers feel that if the options of e-registration is available, the industry would be in a better shape. Priyadarshi Mishra, CEO, DesignAndConstruct.in, lamented, "Driven by the IT sector, Bengaluru has always been one of the most resilient residential markets among the several top cities, which are largely driven by end users. It has seen a steady growth in the last few years, even while other cities like NCR or MMR were struggling amidst the reformatory changes. At present the real estate industry is worried as the stamps and registrations offices are closed, affecting the cash flows of developers. Banks or any financial institutions will release housing loans only after registration of housing property. Plot/flat buyers won't be able to avail capital gain exemptions either."

He stated that e-registrations could have been a viable option or an alternative.

"The advantages of E-Stamp/Registrations can have a lot of impact on construction activities. Facilitation of E-Stamps/Registration will generate revenue to the department and also have monetary benefits by means of having registered agreements. Many pending or ongoing liaisoning issues can be resolved if E-Registration is available. Non functioning of stamps & registrations and non working platform of E-Registrations is a loss to the revenue department of Karnataka State," Mishra added.

Darshan Govindaraju, Director, Vaishnavi Group, opined that the closure of sub-registrar offices could further delay registration of residential apartments and would adversely affect the cash flows of realtors. "E-registrations could have been a viable alternative and is something that the authorities and industry should make the shift towards moving forward," he commented. While reiterating the point of the impediment to the cash flow, Errol Fernandes, Secretary, CREDAI, Bengaluru stated that the revenues of the State government is the first to get affected, as the income from stamp duty and registration fees will be suspended.

"The disbursement of the final installment of a purchaser's housing loan happens only on registration. Hence the advances and resulting income of housing finance companies also gets impacted. Last but not the least, we builders receive our last installment towards flats only upon registration. So our cash flows too are impacted. Further, some of the flat purchasers will be able to avail capital gains exemption only if they complete the registration of the new apartment within three years of them having sold their previous property," he added.