Apartment Association Acts Archives | ApnaComplex Blog

apnacomplexnitin
July 28, 2019

GST for Apartment Associations and Housing Societies – Clarifications

In a recent circular, the Department of Revenue has brought more clarity into the GST Calculation of Resident Welfare Associations(RWA). We have put together a comprehensive guide on how this may impact your Society and how ApnaComplex can help your Society adhere to GST regulations effortlessly.

Q: Is our RWA required to collect GST on Monthly maintenance collected from our members?

A: Your RWA is required to pay GST only if both of these conditions are met:

Aggregate Turnover of your RWA > Rs.20 lakh per year
Maintenance charged per member per month > Rs. 7500

Your RWA is exempt from GST even if one of these conditions is not met.

To auto-calculate GST for your RWA, just spend a few minutes and update the tax structure for your Society in ApnaComplex. ApnaComplex automatically generates GST Computation Report which exactly specifies how much GST your Society has to pay for a particular time period.

Q: Can our RWA take an input tax credit of GST for payment of Capital goods and Services towards our vendors?

A: Yes, RWA can claim an input tax credit of GST paid on capital goods (generators, water pumps, lawn furniture, etc.), goods (taps, pipes, other sanitary/hardware fillings, etc.) and input services such as repair and maintenance services.

In the ApnaComplex expenditure module, while entering the bills, you can capture the GST levied by the vendors. ApnaComplex’s GSTR 3B report automatically shows the GST inflow credits on payment made towards your vendors for Goods and Services. This report will exactly indicate how much GST credits can be claimed by your RWA.

Q: If a member owns two or more flats in the housing society or residential complex, will the ceiling of Rs. 7500/- per month per member on the maintenance be applied per residential apartment or per person?

A: As per the general business sense, a person who owns two or more residential apartments in a housing society or a residential complex shall normally be a member of the RWA for each residential apartment owned by him separately. The ceiling of Rs. 7500/- per month per member shall be applied separately for each residential apartment owned by him. For example, if a person owns two residential apartments in a residential complex and pays Rs. 15000/- per month as maintenance charges towards the maintenance of each apartment to the RWA (Rs. 6000/- per month for one apartment and Rs. 9000/- for the other apartment), the exemption from GST shall be applicable on the apartment whose maintenance is Rs. 6000/-.

ApnaComplex’s 100% automated invoicing lets you set up recurring against all or select flats based on formulae or fixed value or both. Our intuitive interface lets you configure maintenance charge calculation methodology yourself without the need to get in touch with our Support. Visit ApnaComplex Portal > Income > Member Income > Recurring Invoice to set up a recurring invoice to your members.

Q: How should the RWA calculate GST payable where the maintenance charges exceed Rs. 7500/- per month per member? Is the GST payable only on the amount exceeding Rs. 7500/- or on the entire amount of maintenance charges?

A: In case the charges exceed Rs. 7500/- per month per member, the entire amount is taxable. For example, if the maintenance charges are Rs. 9000/- per month per member, GST @18% shall be payable on the entire amount of Rs. 9000/- and not on [Rs. 9000 – Rs. 7500] = Rs. 1500/-.

ApnaComplex enables you to easily define the GST calculation methodology in accordance with the above rule. Just select ‘No’ for “Apply Tax on the excess amount” field in your GST tax structure on ApnaComplex.

For your reference: GST-circular-No-cgst-109

If you need any assistance in harnessing the full capabilities of ApnaComplex’s accounting module, schedule a demo here. We would be happy to help.

apnacomplexnitin
March 8, 2019

Women’s Day Special: Exclusive interview with Super Women at ApnaComplex

International Women’s Day is no longer a new topic today. It is celebrated across the World in order to recognize and appreciate the contributions and achievements of the women in various fields. Starting from being Home-maker to Management Committee members to Working Professionals, they truly define the spirit of today’s women. Today, we decided to talk to three such women about their journey in ApnaComplex and how they are leading their lives with multiple roles and responsibilities.

These women are super confident and self-motivated either at home or at the workplace. Mrs. Prema Robert, Head of Human Resource at ApnaComplex quoted that “Confidence comes from the kind of responsibilities that I get it, more the responsibility that is given to me, the more I feel confident and that makes me explore more, learn more and motivates me to give my best.” Mrs. Arundhati Sen Pradhan, Head of Strategic Partnerships at ApnaComplex states “Motivation comes from the team that I work with, the people that I work with, gives me the motivation to do best in what I do”.

They mentioned that it has been a great journey so far and it is fun working at ApnaComplex. It is quite an experience for anyone to manage multiple roles. Ms. Monika Mitruka, Software Developer at ApnaComplex finds the experience ‘’very challenging and satisfactory.” They also mentioned that the key to confidence is knowledge & learning. These women feel privileged being women as they feel that they have the ability to handle both work and family life.

At ApnaComplex, they all have built stronger social connections amongst themselves. They advised that everyone has her own way of doing things and everyone should have belief in themselves first. Mrs. Arundhati concluded as “It is a very fun life, live to the fullest.” At ApnaComplex, people are full of enthusiasm, confidence and most importantly motivated to face all the odds. Moreover, accomplishing these odds has always been a challenging situation for these women.

Raj Sekhar Kommu – Co-founder and CEO of ApnaComplex says “We are pleased to celebrate International Women’s Day with all the amazing superwomen at ApnaComplex. International Women’s Day is celebrated globally to highlight and honor the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, and to call for gender equality. At ApnaComplex, we firmly believe in gender equality and are forever grateful to every female employee who is an integral part of ApnaComplex.”

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apnacomplexnitin
February 16, 2019

7 Powerful Guidelines for Cash Locker and Almirah placement that you should apply Now!

Have you ever thought about how you should place different objects at home as per Vastu? Do you know the direction, colour, and material of the cash locker and almirah for wealth and prosperity? Yes, it is very important to know the placement, colour, and material before placing any object or item. Here are some Guidelines for placing an Almirah (wardrobe) or Cash Locker that you must apply now:

Do not use almirah made of stones or marbles. Always prefer wood or iron almirah in the bedroom.
Almirah should be placed in Southwest direction so that it opens in North or East.
Almirah should be in some subtle colours like cream or light colour shades.
Make sure not to have any mirror on the Southwest almirah.
Placement of Almirah has different impacts for different rooms and should be placed as per Vastu guidelines.
For Bedroom Almirah-

Place bedroom cabinet or almirah in Northeast or Southwest corner.
Mirrors on almirah must be avoided especially if this almirah is placed in your bedroom.
If there is a mirror on the bedroom almirah, make sure it is not facing the bed.
Avoid dark coloured wardrobe or almirah in the bedroom. Use light-coloured almirah.
For the bedroom, the almirah or wardrobe should open in east or south direction.

For Cash Almirah-

Make sure the cash almirah or locker is comprised of a single door.
The placement of the cash almirah or locker should be such that it is facing the North. Since North is the direction of Kuber, so it is believed that Lord Kuber refills the cash.
Do not place the cash almirah in Northeast, more expenses will be there and ultimately loss of cash.

Conclusion- There is no substitute for hard work, but if you follow these guidelines it helps to balance the energies in the surroundings and attract more positivity to your home.

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apnacomplexnitin
February 13, 2019

Smart Vastu tips to retain money

We are at a fast pace for growth. Growth for a better future and for a better world. But have you ever imagined what if there is no money or financial dearth in your life? Nobody has seen the future, it’s essential to save than regret later. There are different types of solutions available in the market on money management. Retaining money is not that easy. It needs lots of planning.

Let’s talk on some easy and effective vastu changes to ensure a positive outcome and more money inflow.

Cash Almirah or Locker– It is very important to understand where to keep your cash, almirah or Locker. Place the cash almirah or locker in the Southwest or South wall so that it opens in the North. This is the direction of Lord Kuber. It is believed that Lord Kuber refills the cash almirah so this is how you attract money.

Main door instructions– Never place big or high trees in the Northeast direction outside your home as this creates an obstacle for the cash inflow. Also, keep the main entrance clutter free and if there is any shoe rack, replace it away from the main door or entrance.

Place a fish aquarium– An aquarium is used especially to enhance money, career and luck. If used properly in the right direction, it brings wealth and abundance in the home. To know the best direction, you can read http://community.vastudekho.com/3785/attract-wealth-and-luck-placing-aquarium-vastu-tips-aquarium

Check these other important Vastu Dekho measures to ensure no blockades for the cash inflow-

Never place big or high trees in the Northeast direction outside your home as this creates an obstacle for the cash inflow.
Lord Kuber and Goddess Lakshmi like cleanliness so ensure that all the windows and doors of the house are properly cleaned. If not, they will obstruct the flow of money and wealth inside your house.
Leaking Taps in the house is a BIG NO. Since water is symbolic of money so it is believed that if water is getting waste then money is also getting wasted.

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apnacomplexnitin
January 23, 2019

Responsibilities of the Resident: A Proactive Approach

Managing the affairs of an apartment complex is not just the responsibility of the Managing Committee. Surprised? Don’t be. Just as the quality of your family life depends on the behaviour of all members of the family, in the same way managing a society depends on the behaviour of all the residents living in that apartment complex. How you interact with the committee and the rest of the residents has an effect on the management of the society. We have listed below a few such interactions which can decide how well your society functions.

Breach of bye-laws

In an apartment complex, it is quite common for a resident to lock horns with a member of the managing committee. Most often, resolutions arrive amicably. But when they aren’t, the residents often retaliate by ceasing to pay maintenance dues. Residents should remember that this is a breach of the bye-law and hence, illegal.

If, as a resident, you are unsatisfied with the resolution, escalate this issue with the appropriate authority. Alternately, if it is an issue that affects all the other residents then take their opinions into account and put it to vote. Withholding dues you owe the society affects the smooth functioning of the society. You may end up with a shortage of funds. Further, the committee is legally authorised to issue notices against defaulters and to penalise you for the same.

Unauthorized constructions

The action of every resident has an effect on all the residing neighbours. This becomes especially evident during renovations and constructions. Whether you change the interior or the exterior of your flat, make sure that your plans don’t break any rules of the society. Get the consent of the Secretary of the Managing Committee before you begin and make sure you don’t become a nuisance by exceeding the noise to respectable hours.

Certain changes like altering the fundamental structure of the building and construction in common areas require special legal permission. If you fail to obtain the same, the committee (and even the municipal council) is entitled to take action against the same. Lastly, remember that if not conveyed, other residents are well within their rights to complain against the construction to seek redressal.

Favours from the Managing Committee

As longtime neighbours, you might be close friends with certain members of the committee. So sometimes, you may find yourself asking for favours like waiving off the penalty charge for late payment or reducing the rent charged for the clubhouse. Not only is this unfair to rest of the complex, but it also puts your friend in a dilemma. It puts them to choose between friendship and their duty.

Participation in society meetings and elections

As a resident, it is both your right and duty to contribute to the functioning of the society. Despite personal commitments, it is important that residents attend society meetings and elections. The decisions and opinions expressed here will have a direct effect on your life in the complex. It is also important that you express your opinions about an idea that is being discussed. There is no point in complaining about a decision taken during the meeting you missed. It is important to work with both the committee members and other residents to make sure that the complex runs efficiently.

The role of a resident extends beyond the payment of maintenance dues. These are just a few areas in which the behaviour of the members can decide how efficiently an apartment complex gets managed. We hope you are playing a proactive role in the affairs of your apartment complex – whether you are a part of the Managing Committee or not!

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apnacomplexnitin
January 9, 2019

Standard Domestic Help Rates: Can it be Achieved?

Domestic help/maids have now become a necessity for almost all households in India. Presently, with the average citizen working in the 9-5 shift or more, basic household chores need to be taken care of. It becomes essential that you hire the right person for all these activities that affect your day-to-day lives.

Some of the cities such as Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Hyderabad have several high-rise apartments with 700+ people residing in the same. The amount of domestic help available in such apartments should also be abundant? But this is not the case and the simple rule of economics that demand generates supply fails here. Finding domestic help is not easy irrespective of where you stay or how much you can pay. Sooner or later you do go through the pain of finding the right domestic help and retaining the same. Essentially, the story remains the same whether you reside in a big apartment or small: demands by the domestic staff for salary hikes are too frequent and largely unaffordable.

How can you tackle this problem?

Tips to standardise domestic help rates:

Prepare a rate card for all the household activities and ask residents to pay only that much.
Every maid needs to carry a No-objection-certificate from her previous employer so that the prospective employer ensures she/he is not switching jobs for money.
Residents are requested not to deviate from the rate card.
Any domestic help asking for more than the agreed rates are penalized.

Pitfalls of standardised rates:

The question that arises from the above pointers is that how easy is it to apply these rules to housing societies. A lot of residents were happy with the above-mentioned resolutions, however, some disagreed to the resolutions claiming that they were quite capitalist in nature and if doctors/engineers can demand their price, why can’t the domestic help do the same? The whole demand and supply economics lies in the scenario that if you can afford a maid for Rs. 8,000 and can very well afford it, it doesn’t matter to you if others in the apartment are paying Rs. 3,000. The others sooner or later will have to succumb to the so-called “market rate” pressure and increase the salary bars.

The resolutions mentioned above can only work if people living in an apartment work as a team with their associations and come to a common resolution wherein neither the domestic help is exploited nor are the employers blackmailed for sudden pay hikes.

Until then people with maids/drivers working with you for more than a year, good luck in maintaining them. For people searching for a good domestic help, best of luck for your quest to find the right domestic help!

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Goods and Services Tax - Real Estate - ApnaComplex

ApnaComplex
May 5, 2017

Impact of GST on Co-operative Housing Society and Real Estate

Basic Introduction of GST and its Perspective as a Contractor and a Developer
GST (Goods and Services Tax) is one indirect tax for the whole nation, which is meant to be a unified indirect tax across the country on construction services and will make India one unified common market. The present structure of Indirect Taxes is very complex in India. There are so many types of taxes that are levied by the Central and State Governments on Goods & Services. It has been long pending issue to streamline and subsume all the different types of indirect taxes and implement a “single taxation” system called “GST”.

Implementing the GST will ease the compliance, uniform the tax rates and structures, remove the cascading effect of taxes levied by States & Centre, will improve the business competitiveness and will benefit everyone doing trade in some or the other form whether as a contractor or as a developer.

In the current system in India, tax is levied at each stage separately, by the Centre and the State, at varying rates i.e. 10.5% / 6% / 4.5% for service tax and different rates by different States, on the value of construction services. But under the GST system that is set to be introduced, tax will be levied only on the value added at each stage by the sub‐contractors, main contractors and developers or builders. It is a single tax collected at multiple value additions with a full set‐off for taxes paid earlier in the value chain by sub‐contractors and main contractors. It is pertinent to note that the inter credit of different taxes paid in the current regime be a service tax, VAT, CST, etc. to Centre or States are not allowed and thus becomes a part of the cost on the suppliers. Thus, under GST the final buyer / client will bear only the GST charged by the last person i.e. developer or builder or the contractor.

Structure of GST in India

In India, a dual GST is proposed whereby a Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) and a State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) will be levied on the taxable value of every transaction of supply of goods and services.

The Dual GST is expected to be a simple and transparent tax with one or two CGST and SGST rates. The structure of the model law comprises of CGST Act, SGST Act and IGST Act. The dual GST model would give adequate flexibility to the States to levy taxes on a comprehensive base of goods and services at all points in the supply chain. Thus, financial liberty of the States would be maintained. GST is a consumption based tax. It is based on the “Destination principle”. GST is applied on goods and services at the place where actual consumption materializes.

The Centre and the States would have parallel jurisdiction for the entire value chain and for all taxpayers. The administration of GST under the three components will be as under:

Central GST (CGST) – to be levied on intra state trade and administered by the Centre
State GST (SGST) – to be levied on intra state trade and administered by the State Governments
Inter‐State GST (IGST) – to be levied on inter‐State trade and administered and collected by the Centre.

To the extent feasible, uniform procedure for collection of both Central GST and State GST is prescribed in the respective legislation for Central GST and State GST.

It can be noted that IGST will not be a Tax in addition to the SGST and CGST so one should not presume that IGST is a third tax but it is only a mechanism to monitor the interstate trade of Goods and services and further to ensure that the ultimate SGST is gone to the consumer state since the GST is a destination based tax.

Impact of GST on Co-operative Housing Society as well as Real Estate Sector
Implementation of the GST law will have a positive impact on the Co-operative Housing Society and on the real estate sector with expected reduction in its tax burden. The law will single‐handedly solve many of the challenges faced by the real estate sector. Heavy taxes that are being borne in a non‐transparent manner are expected to be very transparent in GST. It is unclear what would be the rate of GST applicable on construction services, hence it would be difficult to confirm the exact impact on GST on the Co-operative Housing Society. However going by the informal discussion, it is learnt that the rate is expected to be something between 18‐20%, which is what the current rate directly and indirectly being borne by the construction sector. Besides the simplicity in taxation, GST would bring in other advantages like transparency, seamless credits, ease of business by lack of border controls, promoting economic efficiency through a destination based taxation system. Overall Construction costs would be reduced to some extent which would benefit the end consumer. Apart from the advantages, the complexities in the compliance and assessments shall also be greatly reduced as the tax laws would also be unified.

There would be lesser burden of tax on purchases of major inputs like cement and steel, as tax credits would be available for set off at various stages which are currently restricted. The restrictions on credit utilization would be eliminated, thus strengthening the credit chain in the system. If this so happens, there will be increased credits available in the procurement chain and hence better utilization of input tax costs towards output GST Liability.

Since GST may be levied on a single value, the current issue of levying tax on tax (VAT on central excise duty) is likely to be removed. Hence the cascading effect of taxes shall be removed with the resulting transparency which will significantly reduce tax evasion through more efficient transaction‐tracking methods, and improved enforcement and compliance. Hence the implementation of GST will enhance the investment in Housing Societies & real estate sectors.

It is widely expected that GST would reduce the construction cost in the hands of developer and thereby aid in reducing or at least maintaining the current level of prices in the housing societies as well as in the real estate sector.

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ApnaComplex
March 25, 2013

Announcing ApnaComplex for Federations of Neighbourhood RWAs

We are proud to announce the launch of ‘ApnaComplex for Federations‘ – A first of its kind software for Federations.

ApnaComplex for Federations is based on the award winning ApnaComplex used by individual apartment owners associations – customized to suit the needs of Federations. ApnaComplex for Federations will assist Federations conduct their operations easily. Until now there is no software that is dedicated to be used by Federations and now ApnaComplex for Federations fills the gap for the first time.

What is a Federation?

Federation, in this context, is a group of Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) / Apartment Owners Associations / Gated Communities and similar such bodies. The core objective of such federations would typically be to improve the life of residents in the neighborhood by actively participating in local issues.

Forming a federation of multiple Resident Welfare Associations in a neighbourhood is increasingly becoming a common phenomenon in most cities across India. With help of ApnaComplex, Federations can leverage technology to manage their operations easily and focus on their objective instead of spending time on administrative aspects.

ApnaComplex for Federations

As a starting point, ApnaComplex for Federations offers easy way to handle the communication and management needs of federations. Following are the tools offered at a high level:

Add other Resident Welfare Associations as Member Associations or a Federation
Add owners/residents from each RWA as Community Representatives in the Federation.
Discuss among all community representatives with help of Mailing lists & Forums.
Form Sub Groups with their own forums to create specific task forces with in the federation.
Post notices that automatically gets posted on Member RWA portal notice boards.
Maintain all documents of federations in a central place.
Schedule Meetings with unlimited Email/SMS Reminders to all invitees. Capture Meeting Minutes, Action Items etc.
Photo Gallery to upload pictures of Federation organized events.
Maintaining list of Office Bearers / Committee Members with election dates and history
Dedicated Homepage for the Federation

As always, the feature set will evolve as more federations use.

What does ApnaComplex for Federations Cost?

Here’s the best news! ApnaComplex for Federations is offered FREE at zero cost to the Federations!

How to sign up my federation for this?

If you are part of a federation or planning to start one – get started with ApnaComplex for Federations! Contact us with your federation details and we would be glad to set it up for you!

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ApnaComplex
March 3, 2013

The Uttar Pradesh Apartment Act 2010, Rules and Model Bye-Laws

Below are copies of different official documents for apartment communities of Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh Apartment (PROMOTION OF CONSTRUCTION, OWNERSHIP AND MAINTENANCE) Act, 2010 from ApnaComplex

Uttar Pradesh Apartment (PROMOTION OF CONSTRUCTION, OWNERSHIP AND MAINTENANCE) Act Rules, 2010 from ApnaComplex

Model Bye-Laws for Uttar Pradesh Apartment Owners Assocations from ApnaComplex

Want to manage your apartment easily and financials transparently in your Housing Society? – Get on to ApnaComplex – Today!

ApnaComplex is India’s #1 mobile and web based Apartment Management Software.

ApnaComplex is designed to make the life of residents and owners lot better by bringing in more transparency and accountability in managing a housing society. Check out why we say ApnaComplex is Best Apartment Management Software and sign up your society today to get the benefits! We offer ApnaComplex – Free Edition with awesome capabilities which you can use free of cost forever.