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TREND MILL
One road, many problems
Tax tips
Realty to pick up on prices, activity
GREEN HOUSE
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TREND MILL Capture the outdoor fall spirit right in your living space. Embrace tones of browns, yellows, oranges and tans, writes SAURABH MALIK
Now what’s your bungalow got to do with weather? Well, everything! You wish to look up-to-the-season by revamping your wardrobe, so why not smarten up your house for that “being in” impression.
Some flowers here and some brushstrokes there are good enough for you to paint a perfect picture of the fall. Place decoration bits on the table and hang stuff on the wall and you have the perfect recipe for autumn. The solutions are cut-rate — and essential — for protecting your house from the onslaught of changing weather. So, do not hesitate to incorporate the changes. They are worth the trouble and expense.
Now, if you just do not wish to change the colours of the interiors, a coat on the exterior can give a facelift to your repute of being a fashionista. Panchkula-based house builder Raman Kumar Sharma, otherwise also, suggests a regular fresh cover of paint on the exterior to keep the house gleaming and protected. Another low-budget idea is to bring home the insignias of autumn — long dry golden leaves, pine cones and so many other things associated with the season. Simply select some leaves, allow them to attain the golden hues of charm that come during drying and laminate the stuff into unique tablemats. “Place them on the dining table or hang them on the wall, the choice is entirely yours,” says Amritsar-based inside-outside expert Vanita Verma. Talking of wall décor, get creative. Drive up the hills or just head to the woods and capture the charm in a snap. Now, stick some leaves on it and get the picture perfect laminated. It clicks! Paintings depicting leaf-raking are good. Hang it above dry decoration, or anywhere in the house, it’s your wish. Start right away, the leaves take time to dry. Oh, so you are not so apt with dry decorations? Worry not. Go to the florists. They will gladly hand over desiccated, yet not shriveled, bouquets of dry flowers. Opt for straw flowers for that refined fall touch to your interiors. Not enthused? Ask for fresh flowers. Let the budding interior designer in you give the house a blooming look with chrysanthemums to other flowers in lavender, burgundies and soft plum shades.
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One road, many problems
AGAINST popular expectations, property on Ferozepur Road outside the municipal limits of Ludhiana has failed to attract investors, particularly in housing projects. Not more than a couple of property dealers have "dared" to venture into the troubled waters and work in the area has not made any mentionable progress on ground.
Except for a small area, a common investor is first faced with a defence area in Baddowal that will remain untouched, at least in the near future. The road stretch of approximately five kilometres along the defence area has no scope for housing projects. A little distance from the defence area is the spot that houses approximately a dozen big marriage palaces. The traffic, accompanying sounds and hectic human activity, especially during the wedding season, is viewed as a big deterrent for public going in for housing in this area. A cross section of the city property dealers when questioned on the future prospects for new projects, in wake of abysmally poor response to the recently launched projects, said: "Don't expect any magic in the near future." Ferozepur Road is one of the most happening and fast moving areas on city roads and houses the best of markets and housing colonies. However, housing projects beyond city limits have failed to make any visible impact. One of the biggest reasons for lesser construction is a nearly five-kilometre defence area in Baddowal. Even the road is very narrow going by the volume of traffic it handles. There has been a talk in the past about a ring road passing near the area to lessen traffic load but there is no official confirmation, as the project needs clearance from the defence authorities. Property consultant Kulbir Singh says: "Very simply put, the public does not expect much returns from this long-term investment. Property purchased a little far from the city is largely for investment purposes for city residents, who expect some returns. However due to narrow roads and chaotic traffic, the public is not interested. Not for the moment, at least." Samsher Atwal, another consultant, says: "As soon as one crosses the city limits, there is a stretch of defence land on the main road, which will remain untouched by construction. Five deserted kilometres is a very long distance for travelling, particularly at night." Vipan Bitta, a local investor, is more upbeat: "It is just a matter of time before property picks up in the area. Even currently, one acre does not cost less than Rs 5 crore. I think whenever the road is broadened more people would like to own a house in this area." Tanveer Singh, a local businessman, says: "Ludhiana has a sizeable population of businessmen. I would not feel safe to use that road to reach home at night if I am carrying cash. For industrialists operating from Focal Point and adjoining areas, Ferozepur Road is more than 40 km!" Ashok Maltotra, another consultant, says: “The area offers no attraction for women and children. Children will find it very difficult commuting from schools, colleges and tuitions. Women have no place to shop. Distance apart, there is no effective public transport system in place. Auto-rickshaws do not go outside municipal limits and the bus service ends by late evening. Medical facilities are also available only in the city. , at the doorstep. Travelling, long distances, will be difficult, particularly at night as there are very hospitals, on way".
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Tax tips
Q. This is regarding your answer to Mr Narinder Kumar Sharma’s query published in The Tribune. In my view, Mr Sharma cannot show any capital gain beyond the actual consideration he received on paper. Whatever the way, he will have to stick to the figure of Rs 39.45 lakh. I understand that a higher deemed value was considered and the buyer paid the stamp duty accordingly. Now, if the seller accepts the deemed value of Rs 62.88 lakh as actual value, both the buyer and the seller will be in a piquant situation. For the differential amount of Rs 23.43 lakh they will have to show the sources in addition to paying the tax. I wonder how the buyer will respond to this demand of the seller. I shall be much obliged if you clarify (I am a practicing psychiatrist and no professional on income tax matters!).
— Sandeep Kumar A.
Section 50C of the Act provides that in case the consideration received or accruing as a result of transfer by an assessee of a capital asset, being land or building or both, is less than the value adopted or assessed by the authority of a state government for the purposes of payment of stamp duty in respect of such transfer, the value so adopted or assessed shall, for the purposes of section 48, be deemed to be the full value of consideration received or accruing as a result of such transfer. The section has introduced a deemed concept for determination of the capital gain on the basis of the value adopted or assessed by the stamp valuation authority. There can be number of cases where the actual consideration is less but a higher assessable value has been fixed for the purposes of chargeability of the stamp duty. This is specifically applicable in today’s environment where real estate prices have gone down but the state governments have not changed the assessable rates prescribed for the charge of stamp duty. In such cases there is a deemed capital gain on which tax is payable by an assessee on account of the provisions of section 50C of the Act. The reply to the question of Mr Narinder Kumar Sharma was, therefore, based on the interpretation of law where deemed provisions introduced in the tax laws have to be given their logical conclusion.
You are late, difficult to claim exemption
Q. I sold my one house for an amount of Rs 12 lakh and the conveyance deed was executed in May 2009. I had purchased a society flat in January 2007. The last installment towards cost of this flat, which was Rs 6 lakh, was paid in January 2009. Can this amount of Rs 6 lakh be reduced from the amount of long-term capital gain arising from sale of the said house for calculating income tax on long-term capital gain?
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The tentative cost of the above flat is over Rs 30 lakh and the payment was made in installments spread over the years 2007, 2008 and 2009. Is the purchase of this flat required to be shown in the income tax return under schedule AIR?
— Usha Gupta A. Section 54 of the Act provides for the treatment with regard to the capital gain arising on the transfer of a long-term capital asset being buildings or lands appurtenant thereto, and being a residential house, the income from which is chargeable under the head ‘income from house property’. According to the provisions contained in the said section, if the assessee has within a period of one year before or two year after the date on which the transfer took place purchased a residential house, then instead of the capital gain being charged to Income-tax as the income of the year in which the transfer took place shall not be so charged to Income-tax in case the capital gain is more than the cost of the residential house so purchased. On the basis of the facts given in the query the purchase of the flat was effected in January 2007 whereas transfer of the long-term capital asset in the nature of a residential house took place in May 2009. A beneficial interpretation of the section may enable you to claim the exemption from the chargeability of capital gains tax to the extent of installment paid within one year of the date of transfer of the residential house. However, on a strict interpretation of the provisions of the section, it may be difficult to claim the exemption with regard to the amount of installment paid within one year as the purchase of flat took place in January 2007, which is beyond the period of one year of the date of transfer of residential house. The cost of the flat being more than Rs 30 lakh it will be obligatory on your part to report the transaction in the annual information report forming part of the Income-tax return.
MC limits: Measure distance by road
Q. Could you clarify how the distance is measured from the corporation limits for the purposes of ascertaining whether a particular land is an agricultural or a non-agricultural land? — Kapil
A.
Section 2(14) of the Act, which defines the term ‘capital asset’ does not provide any guidance with regard to the method of determining the distance for the purposes of the said section. The notification issued by the Government of India is also silent with regard to the method of determining the distance for the purposes of ascertaining whether the land is rural or an urban agricultural land. However, the most appropriate method in my opinion should be the measurement of distance by road. The reason for coming to this conclusion is the language used in the notification which specifies “areas upto a distance of x kilometers from the municipal limits in all directions”.
No tax on gift from aunt
Q. I had read that there will be gift tax from October 1. Is it true? My aunt (father's sister), a US citizen, wants to gift me our ancestral agricultural land, but she is in the US and unable to come to India before October 1. So what is the way out? We are willing to do this all before October 1 and want to save the tax. — Dr Baljit Natt
A.
The Finance Bill 2009 proposes to levy Income-tax on the value of any property received without consideration or for inadequate consideration. Such property includes immovable property being land or building or both. However, section 56 of the Act which is proposed to be amended to deal with transactions of the nature referred to herein above, provides that the value of any such property received from a ‘relative’ would not be covered for the purposes of levy of Income-tax thereon. The term ‘relative’ as defined by the aforesaid section means brother or sister of either of the parents of the individual. Accordingly, the gift of the agricultural land to you by your father’s sister would not be covered for the purposes of taxability under the said section even if the gift is made after October 1, 2009.
It’s a long-term capital gain
Q. I booked a flat with UNITECH in the year 2005. I have paid approximately 75 per cent of the cost of the flat. I intend to sell the same and buy another flat having a larger sqft area. I expect to get a premium of almost 60 per cent over the amount paid by me. Will the amount so earned be taxable? — Vivek
A.
You had acquired a right to property and such right would be treated as a long term capital asset. Any profit arising on sale of such a right would be treated as a long term capital gain and would be taxable @ 20 per cent plus education cess of 3 per cent. The above rates are applicable for the assessment year 2010-11.
This column appears weekly. The writer can be contacted at sc@scvasudeva.com
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Realty to pick up on prices, activity
INDIA'S property market could see lower prices and a pick up in business activity lifting demand in the near term, but new supply will keep a lid on rises in property values, a top industry official said on Tuesday.
"In India, demand is holding up relatively better as the economy is still growing. Commercial property is stabilising, but residential has seen a bounce back," Alastair Hughes, chief executive for Asia Pacific at property services firm Jones Lang LaSalle, said. But he expects new capacity coming into the market and developer's liquidity worries to keep prices in check. Developers in India and China are increasingly turning to share sales to rework balance sheets, as debt funds dry up and foreign investors stay away. India — the world's second-most populous country — has however, seen home buyers trickling back in major cities on some sharp price cuts, after the global financial crisis cut off funding last year and demand vanished on inflated prices. India's economy, Asia's third-largest, is likely to grow between 6 to 7 per cent in 2009/10, slower than earlier years but still among the fastest globally, which could help revive demand for office and retail space. The BSE real estate index has trebled from its low in March, compared with an 82 per cent slump in 2008. In comparison, the main stock index is up 91 per cent from its March low. Jones Lang's India unit could see revenue dip by a tenth in 2009 to about $70 million, but the firm remains optimistic on the long-term growth prospects. India and China remain the core growth drivers for the firm's Asia business, which reports annual revenue of $500 million. "We are holding capacity right now but as growth returns, we will expand our business and market share," Hughes said. He hopes to double the India business in the next three years.
Luring home buyers
WHILE demand in commercial property was fundamentally linked to revival in economic activity, residential segment is driven more by human instinct and price cuts are helping draw buyers across Asia, Hughes said. "When people see home values falling 40 per cent, their instinct is to look to invest, try to get good value. We have seen this in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mumbai." Cash-strapped developers in India have cut prices by about 25 to 40 per cent, shrunk apartments and redesigned projects in tune with demand. Developers in other Asian markets, like China, Hong Kong and Singapore, have also cut prices to lure buyers, leading to an uptick in demand. "This is a market-driven appraisal by developers of where the demand is. Today the premium is on value for money," Hughes said. Other Indian developers have focused on building low-cost homes, with firms such as Omaxe, Puravankara Projects and Tata Housing launching several such projects in the past few months. Hughes said he was positive on the development as this fulfilled a long-term gap in the Indian market - where, according to analysts -- there is a need for at least 30 million low-cost units given the growing urbanisation. "There is a long-term need for affordable housing. But even practically, we are in a slump and the reality is they can sell only affordable housing right now."
— Reuters
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GREEN HOUSE How about growing your own fruits, vegetables and pulses? If space is not a constraint, the choices in a nutrition garden are endless, but if you have a small garden, fret not. A little bit of timely planning can work wonders, writes Satish Narula
The concept of nutrition garden is not new but it got a fillip when former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam desired one in Rashtrapati Bhavan. The task was given to the Punjab Agricultural University and I executed the plan to make sure that the President got uninterrupted fruits and vegetables all year round. It is not difficult. The first requirement is to make a list of fruits and vegetables that can be grown in a particular area. Then comes the question of personal preferences and family likings. Crops that you feel are readily available in your area at reasonable prices all year round could be substituted with others from the list. After this, the availability period of crops is noted and then its various varieties are planted so as to get the produce over a staggered and prolonged period of time. For the convenience of those who want to undertake one such plan, I will discuss the fruits for the sub-mountainous zone comprising the districts of Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Ropar, Mohali, Chandigarh and parts of Patiala and Ambala. Fruit plants that can be successfully grown in these areas are mango, litchi, chiku, peach, plum, pear, guava, banana, loquatber, kathal, amla, anar, phalsa, grapes, karonda, papaya, jamun mulberry, bael and almost all citrus plants — kinnow, sweet orange, grape fruit, mitha (sweet lime), lemon and bael. Out of these, the plants that can be multiplied from seed or cutting are kathal, anar, phalsa, grapes, karonda, papaya and mulberry. Banana could be prepared by taking suckers from already growing trees. These could be prepared from any good plant growing in your area. Fruit plants like mulberry, grapes, anar and phalsa are prepared only in December-January when these are dormant. For other fruit plants one should always approach nurseries of the agricultural university, state department of horticulture or nurseries recognised by them. At these places, plants are prepared only from mother plants with known performance. So as to get fruit over a prolonged period of time, one could select different varieties of a particular fruit and plant them. For example, in case of mango, one could go in for Dusehri, Langra or the ever-popular sucking varieties, named from GN1 to GN7. For kinnow, you could obtain virus-free plants from the Ludhiana nursery of PAU. Sweet Orange varieties like Musambi, Jaffa, Blood Red and Valencia could be grown. In case of grape fruit, the varieties available are Marsh Seedless and Red Blush. Sweet lime plants have no selected variety and thus local variety could be planted. In case of plum, two varieties — Satluj Purple and Kala Amritsari — are grown, the latter acting as polliniser for the former. The plants of these two varieties should be planted side by side in the nutrition garden. In peaches, choose from very early ripening varieties like Partap, Parbhat, Flordaprince, Earli Grande and Shan-i-Punjab. Being early to ripe, these varieties escape insect infestation. Punjab Beauty, Punjab Gold and Punjab Nectar are excellent pear varieties that grow successfully under Punjab conditions. In case of guava, go in for Arka Amulya, Allahabad Safeda, Sardar guava or Hybrid cultivar. Chiku plants could be had from either the Pinjore Nursery or the Directorate of Horticulture nursery in Sector 21, Panchkula. The varieties for this are Kalli Patti or Cricket Ball. Grafted plants of Jamun bear fruit very fast and PAU Selection available at PAU should be planted. In Ber, the cultivars are bold fruited Umran and sweet and medium sized Sanaur-2.
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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AGAINST popular expectations, property on Ferozepur Road outside the municipal limits of Ludhiana has failed to attract investors, particularly in housing projects. Not more than a couple of property dealers have "dared" to venture into the troubled waters and work in the area has not made any mentionable progress on ground.
How
about growing your own fruits, vegetables and pulses? If space is not a
constraint, the choices in a nutrition garden are endless, but if you have a
small garden, fret not. A little bit of timely planning can work wonders, writes
Satish Narula
THE winds of change sweeping the region are already gearing up to drive the monsoon clouds away. Before you realise, the not-so-balmy sun, snuggling under the thick grey-white blanket of haze will be shining again, albeit with much less vigour.
That’s precisely why you are getting ready to silently tuck away the single-shoulder satin tops and rainbow brights in some remote corner of your mind’s closet and are picking up something more wintry. Right! Your wardrobe is undergoing a change. After shedding the weight of summer-monsoon collection, you are all set for the fall-winter ensembles. So just why should your house remain untouched?
It’s not tough, even if you do not have the time to swathe the entire home décor with the fall-winter collection. Simple alterations and additions can actually help you capture the outdoor fall spirit right in your living space.
To begin with, gasp the charm of autumn. The weather is warm, yet pleasant, and the golden-brown hues of the evening sky are there to announce the advent of autumn. So, tarry a little and revolutionise your outlook towards change by altering the colour scheme. After all, fall is all about a dip in temperature and changing hues outdoors. Just in case you are still confused, autumn brings along with it tones of browns, yellows, oranges and tans.
AT times I am surprised to see that those who have plenty of land in their estate purchase vegetables, fruits and pulses from the market for their own home consumption. With a little planning, we can ensure 24x7 supplies. We call such an arrangement a nutrition garden.
