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The heat is on
TREND MILL
Tiles & more…
REALTY BYTES
Flying South
Tax tips
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The heat is on
THE Sensex may be showing signs of recovery now and then and banks may have once again lowered home lone rates, but the realty sector in and around the Holy City — once compared with Gurgaon — has not trailed the cues.
A number of reputed national and regional real estate developers continue to feel the heat of the global economic meltdown triggered by the US sub- prime mortgage crisis. Their main target — NRIs of Punjabi origin — remain elusive and are no longer in a hurry to procure dream houses back home. Before the crisis, developers almost solely targetted NRI customers by specifically mentioning the distance from Golden Temple and Rajasansi International Airport. NRI Kamaljit Singh Sandhu had sold his house in Detroit, USA, for USD three lakh. The buyer had arranged funds by taking advance from a bank but was unable to repay the loan. The bank had to auction the house, which Kamaljit again procured for USD 1.5 lakh! Players associated with the sector consider numerous factors apart from unavoidable national and international developments holding back the sector from making a comeback, including state government policy. Although developers reluctantly accept that prices of property nosedived by 20 per cent, their real concern is the negative sentiment among prospective buyers. Even at reduced prices, there are no customers. About 40 colonies, including 10 giant ones spread over 100 acres each, were set up primarily on the periphery of the city and beyond it by well-known national developers like Ansal Buildwell, AIPL Ambuja, Impact Gardens and Tiwari Coloniser while the much-touted Nitishiri and Metcalf developed colonies failed to take off. A senior Ansal Buildwell executive said buyers had shown keen interest in the beginning but only for investment purposes and made their money by selling off the plots. Now, there is hardly any construction in the new townships, he said, adding that buyers were reluctant to settle far off from the city. Experts say the real estate bubble was set to burst sooner or later as the governments failed to announce any major industrial project or revive the sagging industry in the border area to provide energy much-needed to sustain the boom. They are sore over the Parkash Singh Badal government’s decision to increase change of land use (CLU) charges to Rs 30 lakh per acre for residential purposes and Rs 2.65 crore per acre for commercial purposes. Their displeasure was apparent in the dwindling revenue from stamp duty in Amritsar. Earnings plummeted to Rs 84 crore from a staggering Rs 100 crore in the last fiscal. Riding on the boom wave, the Amritsar realty sector had scaled the graph swiftly following announcements to set up a special economic zone for export purposes, increasing global connectivity to the city with the rise in number of international flights at Rajasansi International Airport and indications of opening of the Wagah-Attari joint check post for trade with Pakistan. They had been catalysts enough to drive the real estate czars of North India to move to the border town with mega projects. Offering state-of-the-art civic amenities with residential plots and flats along with foolproof security, the real estate developers competed with one other to secure the largest piece of the realty pie. None of the projects materialised — terrorist attack on Mumbai yet again put open trade on the backburner and the number of international flights came down.
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It is a man’s world
Decorated is not cheesy! With a little effort, you can transform a bedroom into a fully decorated room without losing its masculine simplicity, finds SAURABH MALIK. After all, your room reflects on who you are
The inside-outside shops you have so far visited in Chandigarh and other boomtowns of the country have stuff good enough to convert your bachelor pad into a love nest, undoubtedly. But then, synthetic flowers and floral drapes are definitely not macho. Agreed, the red and pink cushions can give the interior a classy look around Valentine’s. Round the year, in your room, they look cheesy. Of course, you do not want that. Romantic interiors are fine. Manly touch, what about it? So guys flex your muscles to pick up the stuff that gives your room that sturdy look. Brainy ideas
TO begin with, raise a toast to your manhood by picking up nice beefy and brawny mugs. Nay, not the ones in fervent red with “friends forever” message printed across in ‘Comic Sans MS’ font, or the ones describing your zodiac sign as ‘passionate, hot and caring’. Go in for mugs in glossy blacks and gleaming grays. You have the ones designed as skulls, even ghosts and witches. Make no bones about it guys — the boneheaded drinking vessel looks really creepy, sinister, in fact. The quality ceramic gruesome cranium is good not just for Halloween parties, but also horror-themed get-togethers. Even the handle resembles interlocking bones. Eeks! Drink your favorite demonic brew in it, or else go in for something less ominous like mugs printed with ‘wandering spirits’, or skulls gaping at each other, or even with wings denoting ‘no flying zone’. It’s costing anywhere between Rs 199 and Rs 499. Plasma skull mugs are available online. They are scary alright, but not evil. You can even personalise mugs. Go to Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh or gift galleries across the region and have the snap of an all-boys night out traced out neatly on a ceramic mug. The choice is yours, entirely.
Rising from the ashes
PALS smoking their lungs out just love to hop on your bed and blow up the sanctity of your room in thin air. Worry not. The accessories you pick can convey your sentiments, loudly and clearly. Take to your room a skull and cross bones ashtray. Nearly six inch tall, it actually has a skull placed on cross bones. Then there is the reclining cross bones ashtray, the recognised mark of danger. You can even ask your buddies to deposit money left after buying cigarettes into the skull bank. It’s designed out of cast iron to express the save cash message. The tiny, seven inch tall, bank can be yours for as little as Rs 200. Also, remember to put up a no-smoking message. Puffing is not the mark of a man and you know it!
Knick-knacks
“PLACE a Top Gun helmet on the side table, a stylish cycling helmet can give it company,” says Vinod, working as manager with Chandigarh-based chain of apparel and more, Emerge-10. “It’s modish, has a masculine appeal, and drives home the note of safety, effectively. Beatles bags and Jimi Hendrix posters add to the charm. Fond of art? Modern art stuff is also a good option”. Phones designed as footballs and coke cans call up style. Miniature cars and bikes help you zip down the fast track of panache. Also pick up a multi-functional Swiss army knife. “Speaking generally, it has a blade and tools — screwdrivers and can openers included,” says Amritsar-based gift-shop owner Sunny Arora. “The attachments are stowed inside the knife’s handle through a pivot point mechanism. In the original knife, the handle is usually red, and features a Cross and Shield, the emblem of Switzerland, but the Chinese version is also available, cheap and nice”.
Colour it good
NOW that you have picked up the accessories, give your room a fresh coat of basic and bold colour for a strong look. It may drain the colour from your face if you are essentially conservative but Chandigarh-based builder Joshi says the hot favourites are black, blue, purple and green. “Apply them the right way and you can actually do magic with the hues,” he says. “Go for different tones in one hue and see how your microcosm brightens up”. Also, throw in some rugs. For drapes, choose from Egyptian cotton, velvet, faux suede and leather. “Blue suede is attaining popularity, against brown and red,” says inside-outside expert Puneeta Singh. “You can use it as a duvet cover. Teamed with white, blue suede lends a sophisticated look to the bedroom.” The bedspread should essentially be plain in blue, black and earthy colors. Animal prints are another option. You can add some elephant print throw-in pillows to your room décor. Otherwise, tigers and lions go along with the masculine theme, but are not liked by all. Matter of personal choice, you see. So folks, like a man get down to the task of completing the man-bedroom-look. Happy decorating!
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Blue Beauties
APRIL is the time when you find colour all around. Most of the plants that have recently overcome the adversaries of winter have started to put their best forward. As the temperature starts soaring during this month, colour blue gives a cool respite. Let us talk about some blue flowering beauties while I pronounce Petrea “climber of the month”.
Petrea volubilis, as it is technically called, is one of those classes of vegetation that bears blooms when the plant is almost leafless, which is why the plant is more visible when in bloom. It is because of its blue colour that it is a preferred climber in the summer collection. The star-shaped blooms appear in abundance in clusters completely covering the space where the climber has spread. The terminal blooms in the cluster are deep blue contrasting even with its own light blue cluster. A judicious planner always takes the advantage of putting such plants against contrasting foliage. See the accompanying picture, the climber has been planted near a Kusum tree that bears deep red foliage coinciding with bloom time of
Petrea!
Another big advantage with this climber is that it grows successfully in semi-shade, normally a problem area with gardeners. The leaves that appear later are, however, very rough and wild type. The climber is propagated by layering and suckers. That reminds me of another blue flowering shrub plant that gives its best in the semi-shade or even shade areas, the Daedalacathus. It is a shrub. Probably the outdoor shade loving beauties have one thing in common — rough leaves aptly compensated by a mass blooming in such difficult conditions of shade. It grows to a height of nearly 75 cm and bears deep blue flowers on spikes. The bloom period is again during March-April. The plant is easily propagated by cuttings. Another blue flowering shrub, Menia erecta, flowers during summer and monsoon and is a good space filler in the garden, as it does not grow very tall. The braches are all confined very near to the ground and the flowers are borne inside the plant peeping out at places from between the shining green leaves. The flowers are a bit like a trumpet with a white throat. You may complain about the name of the shrub being difficult to remember and not familiar to nursery staff but I feel this is also one reason that this and the abovementioned shrub are not being grown by many and are slipping into oblivion. You can also include in the blue flowering plants Francisia, also called Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. The peculiar name of the plant is due to bearing of flowers in three colours simultaneously — white, yellow and blue or mauve. The change in colour is due to the flower senescence with every passing day and due to this all the three colours can be seen simultaneously. The shrub is fragrant as well. (This column appears fortnightly) The writer is a senior horticulturist at PAU and can be reached at satishnarula@yahoo.co.in
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Tiles & more…
“We are planning to establish 100 Le Studios in the country,” Nitco chief operating officer Kalyan Kumar Paul said. Nitco also has a concept called ‘Le Studio Express’, which is a compact version of the company’s ambitious stand-alone store concept, Le Studio. This unique store-in-store concept has been designed to ensure dedicated participation with the dealer wherein a section of the dealer shop has been converted into a Nitco nook. This store concept will provide Nitco with a dedicated space to showcase its wide product range under one roof, Paul said.
Nitco has launched a new category of tiles called Naturoc and also added wall tiles to its product portfolio. “Wall tiles were the only missing link in our product portfolio. Addition of wall tiles will further provide an extensive gamut of exclusive and extensive range to our customers all under one roof,” Paul said. The company has a pan-India distribution network with over 550 direct dealers and more than 5,000 outlets covering 28 states. Le Studios is present in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Ahmedabad, Indore, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Cochin, Coimbatore and Chennai. — PTI
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DLF to invest Rs 400 cr in housing
The apartments would be of 1,200 sq ft-1,525 sq ft in area. At Rs 6,000 a sq ft, the price of a flat would range between Rs 72 lakh and Rs 91.5 lakh. According to the company sources, DLF would invest about Rs 350-400 crore to construct this housing project and the firm already possesses the land. In 2007, DLF had acquired 38 acres from DCM Shriram and Lohia Group for Rs 1,675 crore. The company has received encouraging response from potential buyers and hopes that project will be a huge success as it has been priced at very competitive rates, they added. In the national capital, Parsvnath has two residential projects. The selling price of Subhash Nagar project is Rs 7,500 per sq ft and that of Civil Lines project is Rs 10,000 a sq ft. Emaar MGF is selling apartments at Rs 12,700 per sq ft in its prestigious Commonwealth Games project. DLF has already launched affordable housing projects in Gurgaon, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. — PTI
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Flying South
INFRASTRUCTURE projects in south Indian cities have attracted 70 per cent of the private sector investment in the last four years due to better state policies and faster rising per capita income, a chamber study has said.
Around 12 real estate firms including Tata Housing development Company, Golden Gate Properties and Puravankara Projects have announced their projects worth Rs 12,990 crore during the last six months, of which Bangalore got the maximum of six realty projects, while Hyderabad and Chennai got five and one, respectively. Also with the increase in business travel and southern India being considered as prime tourists destination, the hospitality projects have attracted a considerable sum of investment. “Three hotel projects are being planned by hotel industry majors in the tier-I cities in South India, amounting Rs 5,375
crore,” Assocham President Sajjan Jindal said. “Southern cities like
Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai have accounted for 70 per cent of the total private investment in infrastructure projects (out of the) the six metro cities in India.
Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi, account for the remaining 30 per cent.” In the past four years, private sector has invested Rs 33,161 crore in three metros of South India compared to Rs 14,240 crore of infrastructure investments in other tier-I cities. According to the industry body, better state policies, availability of talent due to engineering and business institutes, high literacy rates, and faster rising per capita income in southern states, are the primary attraction for the private sector to pump their funds here. The chamber said after infrastructure projects, SEZs attract the most funding in these cities. The investments in SEZ projects had the share of 36 per cent in total private infrastructure investment. —
PTI
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Tax tips
Q. My mother sold agricultural land somewhere in November 2008. Is the capital gain arising thereon taxable? She does not want to buy another land but intends to give this money to her children. What would be the tax liability of my mother and the children as and when they receive the money from the mother?
— P.S. Bhardwaj A. The capital gain arising on the sale of an agricultural land is exempt from the leviability of capital gains tax if such agricultural land is not covered within the definition of the term ‘capital asset’. In accordance with the provisions of section 2(14) of the Act agricultural land situated in the following areas is covered within the definition of the term ‘capital asset’: n in any area that is comprised within the jurisdiction of a municipality (whether known as a municipality, municipal corporation, notified area committee, town area committee, town committee, or by any other name) or a cantonment board and which has a population of not less than ten thousand according to the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published before the first day of the previous year; or n in any area within such distance, not being more than eight kilometres, from the local limits of any municipality or cantonment board referred to in item (a), as the Central Government may, having regard to the extent of, and scope for, urbanisation of that area and other relevant considerations, specify in this behalf by notification in the official gazette. The Government of India has issued a Notification No. 9447 (F. No. 164/3/87-ITA-1) dated 6.1.1994, specifying the distance for the purposes of the coverage of the agricultural land within (b) above. In case the agricultural land sold by your mother is not comprised within the jurisdiction of a municipality etc. as per (a) above or is outside the limits specified in (b) above, the same would be exempt from the leviability of the capital gains tax. In case it falls within the specified distance or within the jurisdiction of municipality etc., the capital gain arising on such sale would be taxable. Any sum received on such sale can always be distributed by your mother to her sons to any extent and in the manner in which she likes as there is no gift tax leviable in the country on such distribution. I may add that such distribution should be made after the payment of capital gains tax if any, leviable on account of such sale. It is not possible to compute the capital gains tax as the figure of cost and sale price of the land are not indicated in the query.
HUF partition
— R.K. Singh A. The transfer of house property to you at the time of partition would not be treated as a transfer under the provisions of the Act and the surplus if any arising thereof would not the taxable. However, the transfer of house by you for a sum of Rs 8 lakh would require the computation of a long-term capital gain as the period of holding of the HUF will also be included. The figure of cost of the property not being available in the query, it is not possible to compute the amount of capital gain.
Buy CGT bonds within six months
— Arvinder Badwal A. Your queries are replied hereunder: The investment in capital gains tax saving bonds has to be made within six months of the date of transfer of a capital asset. In case the purchase of bonds for another sum of Rs 50 lakhs in the financial year beginning April 1, 2009 falls within the period mentioned hereinabove, it should be possible for you to claim the benefit under the provisions of section 54EC of the Income-tax Act 1961 (the Act) for an aggregate sum of Rs 1 crore i.e. including the purchase of bonds in the financial year commencing April 1, 2009. I assume that the capital gain arising on the sale of property referred to in the query has resulted in the long term capital gain as the benefit under section 54EC of the Act is available in respect of long-term capital gain only. A long-term capital gain arising on the transfer of a capital asset other than a residential house would be exempt from tax in case the net consideration on transfer thereof is utilised in the purchase or construction of a residential house. The purchase has to be effected one year before or within two years of the date of the transfer of the property. The period available for construction of a residential house property is three years from the date of transfer of the property. In case the transfer is of a residential house property, the capital gain arising on the sale of such residential property has to be utilised in the purchase or construction of a residential house property within the aforesaid period. One can also buy capital gains tax saving bonds by investing capital gains arising on the transfer of a long term capital asset within six months of the date of transfer. However, such capital gains tax saving bonds can be purchased for a sum of Rs 50 lakh only in a financial year.
Firm dissolution: Capital gain taxable
— A.K. Singh A. According to the provisions of section 45(4) of the Act, in case capital asset is transferred by way of distribution of capital asset on the dissolution of a firm or otherwise, the property held by the firm shall be deemed to have been transferred and the fair market value of the capital asset on the date of transfer will be taken as full value of consideration for such transfer. The capital gain arising on account thereof would be taxable in the hands of the firm as income of the year in which the transfer by way of dissolution of firm takes place.
No exemption from short-term capital gain
Q. I had purchased a piece of land in Noida few months back. Prices shot up because of the news that the government is intending to acquire the same due to a proposal for the construction of an international airport nearby. I understand that the period of holding being less than three years, the capital gain arising would be taxable as short-term capital gain. Is there any way to get the exemption from the leviability of such capital gains tax? — K.K. Gupta A. No exemption is available in respect of the capital gain that is in the nature of short-term capital gain. Further the re-investment of such capital gain in the capital gains tax saving bonds or purchase or construction of a residential property within the specified period would also not enable you to get any exemption from the leviability of the capital gains tax.
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THE Sensex may be showing signs of recovery now and then and banks may have once again lowered home lone rates, but the realty sector in and around the Holy City — once compared with Gurgaon — has not trailed the cues.
A number of reputed national and regional real estate developers continue to feel the heat of the global economic meltdown
YOU have been pumping iron to come out with six-pack abs and now wish to pump in some cold hard cash into your room to give it a nice macho look. In fact, you have manfully resolved to convert your frilly-lacy bedroom into a boy’s den. After all, in a man’s world, you need a man’s room. Yet masculine and strong bedroom décor ideas are hard to come by.
The inside-outside shops you have so far visited in Chandigarh and other boomtowns of the country have stuff good enough to convert your bachelor pad into a love nest, undoubtedly. But then, synthetic flowers and floral drapes are definitely not macho.
Q. My mother sold agricultural land somewhere in November 2008. Is the capital gain arising thereon taxable? She does not want to buy another land but intends to give this money to her children. What would be the tax liability of my mother and the children as and when they receive the money from the mother?
YOU have been pumping iron to come out with six-pack abs and now wish to pump in some cold hard cash into your room to give it a nice macho look. In fact, you have manfully resolved to convert your frilly-lacy bedroom into a boy’s den. After all, in a man’s world, you need a man’s room. Yet masculine and strong bedroom décor ideas are hard to come by.
REAL estate major DLF Ltd will invest Rs 400 crore to develop a housing project of around 600 apartments, which are priced in the bracket of Rs 72 lakh to Rs 91.5 lakh, in the heart of the National Capital. The basic selling price of the apartments, located on Shivaji Marg, is likely to be fixed around Rs 6,000 per sq ft, market sources said.
Q. Ours was a Hindu Undivided Family that was partitioned in April 2008. The only asset of the property of the HUF was a residential house. On partition, the said house has been allocated to me, a member of the family. The fair market value as on the date of partition was approximately Rs 6 lakh. I sold the said house property in December 2008 for a sum of Rs 8 lakh. What would be the capital gain chargeable to tax in this case? 
Q. We recently sold a property worth Rs 1.3 crore and have bought a bond for Rs 50 lakh on March 26, 2009. Can we purchase another bond starting from the new financial year starting April 1, 2009? Is the maximum 50 lakh per year? Could you please advise us on how to save on tax on capital gain? 
Q. We are a firm of three partners having equal profit-sharing ratio. The firm has let out a property and a substantial amount of rent is received thereof. It is desired that 1/3 of the rent is received by each of the partners separately and the firm’s tax is avoided. We, therefore, intend to dissolve the firm to achieve work purpose. What would be the tax consequence?