During the course of 2015, the government took a slew of measures including relaxing the norms for foreign investment in the construction sector and introduction of REITs (real-estate investment trusts), which could help the industry in the times to come.

We see that REITs have a huge potential to become an alternative form of investment for the Indian real-estate sector. Although the government has addressed most of the tax issues pertaining to REIT’s, a few residual issues on matters such as Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) remains.

The government needs to come up with amendments and rules that should help not only the investors but also the sector as a whole. Also, there needs to be clarity on foreign investments. Further, SPV structures should be at par with equity mutual funds; there should be more clarity on DDT, and thereafter withholding tax should be brought to a reasonable level so as to make it attractive for industry players to launch REIT’s.

Given the prevailing low level of inflation, we expect RBI to usher in at least one more round of rate cuts. That will give a further boost to the confidence of retail buyers and encourage them to buy their own house. We also believe that setting up of a real-estate regulator will only add to this momentum as we will have a standardised set of norms and guidelines that will give comfort to both developers and buyers. As the impact of these long-term measures unfolds and more buyers make a comeback to the property market, we expect a much better and rewarding 2016 for the real-estate sector.

(The writer is CEO, DLF Ltd)

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