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GST on Non-RERA Real Estate Projects: JDA, Procurement and Completion-Date Rules

A non-RERA label does not decide GST liability. The result depends on the project’s supplies, rate scheme, JDA roles, procurement and booking records, and completion or first-occupation dates.
From TheFinanceBase Team6 min to read
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A project being “non-RERA” does not, by itself, decide whether GST is payable. The answer depends on the supplies made, the promoter and apartment categories, the applicable rate scheme, and the project’s booking, consideration, completion and occupation dates. In a joint development agreement (JDA), the landowner’s development-rights supply and the developer’s construction supply may have different GST treatment.

Does a non-RERA project have to pay GST?

There is no general GST exemption simply because a real-estate project is described as “non-RERA.” That description alone does not establish the GST classification, applicable rate or liability. The project must be assessed under the GST rules that apply to its actual supplies, promoter roles, apartment categories and dates. Local approvals and the project’s State-specific facts may also matter.

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For construction intended for sale, paragraph 5(b) of Schedule II to the CGST Act treats construction of a complex, building or civil structure as a supply of services, except where the entire consideration is received after the completion certificate, where required, or after first occupation, whichever occurs earlier. This exception concerns the construction-service classification; it should not be restated as “every sale after completion is taxable” or “GST always ends on possession.”

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The applicable certificate and occupation evidence must be checked. The CGST Act defines the competent authority and addresses cases where that authority’s certificate is not required. A project’s informal “completion” date, possession date, certificate date and first-occupation date are not interchangeable.

Which GST rate scheme applies?

The CBIC rate table separates residential and commercial construction and makes residential rates conditional on the specified entry and project facts. Under the post-1 April 2019 residential scheme, CBIC states the following effective GST rates:

Residential apartment category Effective GST rate in the specified post-1 April 2019 scheme Important qualification
Affordable apartment 1% Applies subject to the conditions in the relevant rate entry.
Other residential apartment 5% Applies subject to the conditions in the relevant rate entry.

These figures are not universal rates for every project or every supply. Commercial units, mixed projects, projects under older treatment and projects that transitioned between schemes require separate analysis. The 2019 CBIC explanatory presentation says the new rates applied from 1 April 2019 and discusses a one-time, conditional option for certain ongoing projects to continue at earlier rates with input tax credit. That was a historical transition option, not an election available to a new project today; establish the project’s commencement and option history before relying on it.

Who pays GST in a joint development agreement?

A JDA can involve more than one supply. Map the agreement and its cash flows rather than treating the arrangement as a single land sale or assuming that all development rights are exempt.

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Landowner-promoter: development rights or FSI

Where a registered landowner-promoter transfers development rights or floor space index (FSI) for consideration wholly or partly in construction apartments, the CBIC real-estate rate material addresses that supply separately. Its treatment is conditional. The material also provides a conditional input-tax-credit path for the landowner-promoter’s onward sale of apartments before completion or first occupation, and a reverse-charge liability on the specified share of development rights or FSI attributable to residential apartments that remain unbooked at the relevant date. The agreement, unit allocation, apartment category and applicable valuation and notification conditions must be checked to determine the result.

CBIC’s 2019 explanatory update describes intermediate tax on development rights—including JDA rights, lease premium and FSI—as exempt only for residential property on which GST is payable. That summary is not a blanket exemption for all rights, units or projects. Verify the applicable notification text and amendments for the project and transaction dates.

Developer-promoter: construction supplied to the landowner

The developer-promoter’s construction supply to the landowner-promoter is a distinct leg of the arrangement. Its treatment depends on the applicable rate entry and conditions, the units or share involved, and the relevant dates. Cash consideration, apartments given in exchange, and the parties’ registered-person status should be identified from the JDA and any amendments; the label “JDA” does not settle liability.

Units still unbooked at completion or first occupation

For the specified treatment of residential development rights or FSI, the CBIC table provides for reverse-charge liability on the relevant share attributable to residential apartments that remain unbooked at completion-certificate issuance or first occupation, whichever is earlier. This is a conditional, project-specific rule—not a statement that every unsold unit in every project creates the same liability. Determine the relevant apartments, share, valuation and date under the applicable notification.

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How does the 80% procurement rule work?

Under the specified post-2019 scheme, the promoter must source at least 80% of the relevant inputs and input services from registered suppliers, subject to the exclusions in the rate entry. If registered-supplier procurement falls short, the promoter pays reverse-charge tax on the shortfall at the rate stated in the applicable rule. Cement bought from an unregistered person is subject to a separate reverse-charge rule at the applicable rate.

These are real-estate-scheme obligations. Do not assume that every purchase from an unregistered supplier automatically attracts the same treatment, or that the procurement test applies regardless of the project’s rate scheme. The promoter needs supplier-registration and purchase records to test the threshold and identify any cement purchases covered by the separate rule.

The procurement obligations should be considered alongside input-tax-credit restrictions. CBIC’s 2019 update says the new scheme restricts input tax credit, subject to prescribed exceptions and calculations. The rate scheme, reverse-charge amounts and eligible credit treatment together affect the project’s tax position; the percentage test alone does not show the final cost.

What counts as a booked apartment?

For the relevant completion-date rules, the CGST Rules use a documentary test. An apartment is treated as booked by the completion-certificate or first-occupation date only when all three conditions are met:

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  • A construction-service time of supply has occurred by that date.
  • At least one installment has been credited to the registered person’s bank account by that date.
  • An allotment letter, sale agreement or similar booking document has been issued by that date.

A marketing lead, unsigned expression of interest or unsupported booking entry should not automatically be counted as a booked apartment. Reconcile the service time of supply, bank credit and issued booking document for each apartment against the relevant date.

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Why do completion and first-occupation dates matter?

The date analysis can affect both the construction-service boundary and project-specific liabilities. For a JDA, an unbooked-apartment reverse-charge rule may turn on the earlier relevant completion or occupation event. Completion or first occupation can also affect project-level input-tax-credit calculations and adjustments under the CGST Rules.

Do not use “possession” as a substitute for the statutory date tests. Establish whether a completion certificate is required, which authority issued it and when, and whether first occupation occurred earlier. Then compare those dates with consideration receipts and the booking evidence required by the rules.

Keep the project credit reconciliation date-specific

The CGST Rules prescribe project-level input-credit calculations and final adjustments in the circumstances they specify. For applicable categories, excess credit is reversed, or an additional amount is claimed, through a return by the September deadline following the financial year in which completion or first occupation occurs. The calculation depends on project type and transition history; no single formula or deadline treatment should be assumed to fit every project.

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Records to assemble before determining liability

  • The JDA, amendments and documents showing each party’s registered-person status, supplies, apartment allocations and cash flows.
  • Project commencement and any documented historical rate-option choice.
  • Unit classification, including affordable residential, other residential, commercial or mixed use.
  • Supplier-registration and purchase records for the procurement test, including cement bought from unregistered suppliers.
  • For each claimed booking: the construction-service time-of-supply record, credited installment and issued allotment letter, sale agreement or similar document.
  • The completion certificate, evidence of whether one is required, and records establishing the first-occupation date.
  • Consideration receipts, project-level credit calculations and any required final adjustment.

Finally, check the central notification amendments and State-specific provisions against the project’s jurisdiction and dates. The CGST Act, CBIC’s consolidated rate table and CGST Rules provide the national framework, but they do not determine a particular project’s RERA classification, JDA valuation or completion evidence without the underlying records. The CBIC notification index lists amendments concerning rates, reverse charge and development rights; confirm the operative notification text from a current official copy before applying a rule to a transaction.

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