At times, the buyer may be duped by the builder / seller concerned who may have promised a gamut of amenities, features or likewise at the start of construction. But at the time of handing over the unit to the respective buyer, there are several unfulfilled promises seen by the home buyer. These can vary from being an illegal property to poor construction quality to not providing the promised amenities within the said project. As a result, the buyer feels cheated. Hence, to avoid a situation like this it is better that buyer’s do a detailed check of the property they are going to take for possession.
Before taking the keys from the builder or an owner, make sure that you have received the original documents and photocopies of all the essential documents from the builder/owner.
Check if the lifts, if any, are in the working condition especially if your unit is higher up. Besides this, you also need to see if the common areas are well-lit and have the promised flooring and tiling within it.
Builders promise a plethora of amenities such as swimming pool, club house and gym, to name a few, at the time of booking. However, it may happen that some of these may be delayed, or not in a non-desirable condition at the time of possession. If not then, ensure that these amenities are made available as per the agreement later on.
While a buyer may have gone through the necessary documents and may have done a site visit before buying a property, it is important to be doubly sure that everything is in place as expected. This simple checklist will help you have peace of mind before occupying that dream home.
As far as the judgement referred by you it pertains to a period before July 2012. From July 2012, a radical change was introduced in service tax wherein all services except certain services specified in the Negative List, were subjected to service tax. However, even from July 2012 and till date, the Act and Rules pertaining to service tax do not contain any provision for exclusion of value of land.
Anticipating an appeal by the Central Government to Supreme Court, builders are likely to continue charging service tax from buyers because in case the Supreme Court rules in favour of the revenue then the builders would be required to pay service tax along with interest. In a scenario where such tax has not been collected by them, the same would be a cost to them along with interest.