TDS on immovable property: Points to consider

In its recent move, the central government has gained the spotlight by implementing tax deduction at source(TDS) on the transfer of immovable properties. The present provision finds its due relevance in all transfer of immovable property transactions of property worth Rs 50 lakh or more.

The new provision calls for TDS to rollback at 1% of the amount given by the buyer of immovable property, regardless of the capital gains. The rate of TDS turns 20% if a particular seller lacks the Permanent Account Number. The property in question can be land, apartment or buildings, however, deduction is not enforceable on agricultural land that is not positioned within municipal limits.

Immovable property- the term in question

The most important part of the provision is its applicability. By the word-’immovable property’, a number of other assets and movable properties such as vehicles are not included in the list. The list of immovable property includes house and land property along with areas which are subjected to lot of investments.

One point to be taken into consideration is that though land falls in the list of immovable property, agricultural land is excluded from the counting. The significant point included in the provision states that only in case of an immovable property that the required TDS should be undertaken.

TDS responsibility

Who will take the responsibility for making the TDS? This is one of the important questions that needs to be answered. In such a case, the answer lies to the transferee, the person entitled with the ownership of the immoveable property. A person is regarded as the buyer who will offer the required amount to seller and then takes a hold of the property in question.

TDS is required to be made by the buyer, only when the property transaction is more than 50 lakh. The TDS includes provision for small individuals since they are likely not to be covered. The total situation can be gazed in a different way that property prices even in smaller cities have climbed several notches up and now value somewhat near Rs 50 lakh mark.

Without TAN

Fitting in with the provisions for tax deductions at source is quite intricate and comprises of a number of steps. This includes acquiring the TAN- tax deduction at source number, which is equivalent to PAN, particularly for those who are deducting the tax.

Deducted tax is required to be deposited on time and filed. For this purpose, online option for TDS payment is available. At present, the necessity for TAN has been done away and the return filing process has been changed to a more simple form in order to provide relief to the individuals.

There are few issues included in the new provisions, especially where the consideration is in the form of revenue share of the sales proceeds. It is only a matter of time that the issues will get dissolved and the Central Board of Direct Taxes will issue clarifications for them.