For builders, developers, JDA partners, and real estate firms — the CA practice that already speaks your language. RERA registration, project-wise compliance, GST scheme selection, JDA structuring, Section 45(5A) for landowners, and Ind AS 115 revenue recognition.
Residential or commercial, 8+ flats or 500 sqm — RERA applies. Quarterly returns, escrow account, project-wise GST. You need a CA who tracks all of it on a project calendar, not an annual one.
Joint Development Agreement on the table — area share or revenue share. Section 45(5A) implications, GST under reverse charge, future project ownership. Wrong structure = lakhs in avoidable tax.
Bank or NBFC loan for project funding. Need project-specific financials, escrow compliance proof, RERA closure certificates as collateral documentation. We structure the file the bank actually wants to see.
1% / 5% scheme without ITC vs 12% with ITC — chosen wrong, locked in for project life. Reverse charge GST on land procurement. Mid-project ITC reversal. We unblock it.
Miss a phase and you face RERA penalties, customer complaints, and stuck CC/OC certificates. Most CAs treat real estate like any other industry — annual ITR, annual audit, done. We've built our process around your project lifecycle. Four phases, each with its own compliance stack.
Wrong GST scheme — locked for project life. A developer chose 12% with ITC for a residential project. Buyers in the micro-market preferred 5% (no ITC) projects. Lost 8 months of sales velocity. The scheme cannot be changed mid-project.
Cost: Sales delay + ITC complicationsSection 45(5A) missed for landowner. Landowner under JDA was taxed on capital gains in the year of agreement instead of year of CC issuance. Tax burden of ₹65 L hit immediately, with zero project liquidity. Section 45(5A) deferral was missed by previous CA.
Cost: ₹65 L cash flow shockForm 5 RERA returns missed for 2 quarters. Project flagged on the public RERA portal. Customer panic. Sales stalled while the developer ran from RERA office to lawyer to old CA. Public-facing RERA defaults damage trust faster than tax notices.
Cost: 4 months stalled salesIf you are mid-project and any of this is uncertain — book a project review → We will map all four phases for your specific project in 60 minutes.
Every line item that touches a residential or commercial real estate file in Gujarat — we handle it.
Map all 4 phases for your specific project. RERA, GST scheme, JDA structure, financing — modelled before launch. 90 minutes, free for new project starts.
One CA tracks your project end-to-end — same person from RERA registration to OC closure. No handoffs, no learning curve every quarter.
Project-level P&L, drawdown vs plan, escrow compliance, RERA filing readiness — reviewed every month. You see status before your bank does.
Post-OC: RERA closure filing, final tax computations, project-level audited financials. Documentation pack handed over — clean, complete, dated.
We started filing RERA registrations the year the Act took effect. Eight years of GujRERA portal nuances, deficiency memos, regulator interactions. We are not learning the portal on your project's time.
Both sides of the table — developer-favouring and landowner-favouring structures. Area share, revenue share, hybrid. Each one optimised for the actual tax position of the parties, not a template.
We have appeared before the regulator on customer complaints, project extension applications, and registration deficiencies. We know what is asked, what is acceptable, and what is denied.
Same city as the regulator. Same city as your buyers. Same city as your bank's regional office. Site visits, regulator visits, bank visits — all happen the same week, not the same month.
Most CAs maintain entity-level books. We maintain project-level books in parallel. When your bank or buyer asks for project-specific financials, the data is already there — not reconstructed in panic.
Project finance from HDFC, ICICI, Axis, Bandhan, NBFCs — we have submitted the same documentation packs they expect. Drawdown reports, security perfection, escrow proof — all in their format on Day 1.
The developer came to us after RERA flagged 2 of their 3 projects on the public-facing portal for late and incorrect quarterly returns. Their previous CA had been filing Form 5 quarterly — but in wrong format, with missing escrow disclosures. Customer trust dropped overnight when prospective buyers checked the RERA portal during diligence.
We took over filings, regularised past quarters with delay condonation petitions, and corrected escrow account documentation. Engaged with GujRERA on the deficiency notes for each project. All three projects un-flagged within 60 days. We have now filed 18 consecutive quarters across all three projects without a single deficiency.
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. In Gujarat, GujRERA registration is mandatory for any project where: total area exceeds 500 sqm, OR more than 8 flats/units are planned. Commercial projects above 500 sqm also require registration. Projects under construction at the time of RERA implementation also had to register retroactively.
No. Section 3 of RERA prohibits advertising, marketing, booking, selling, or offering for sale any plot, apartment, or building in a project that requires registration but is not registered. Pre-launch bookings before registration are illegal. Penalty can extend to 10% of the project cost for the developer.
Form 5 is the quarterly project status update filed on the GujRERA portal. It includes physical progress (foundation, structure, finishing %), financial progress (amount collected, amount in escrow, amount withdrawn), customer complaints status, and any changes to the project plan. Filed within 7 days of quarter-end. Late filing reflects on the public portal and damages buyer confidence.
The 1% / 5% scheme (affordable / non-affordable residential) is simpler — no ITC tracking, lower customer-facing GST. The 12% scheme allows ITC on inputs but the headline GST is higher. Affordable housing project = mandatory 1%. Non-affordable residential = choice between 5% (without ITC) and 12% (with ITC). Commercial = 12% with ITC. The choice locks in for the project's life. Math: depends on input cost ratio. We model this for each specific project before launch.
No. The scheme chosen at the time the project starts (or at the time the developer opted in for ongoing projects under the transition rules) is locked for the life of the project. Selecting wrong is a multi-year sales / margin issue. This is exactly why pre-launch GST modelling matters.
Sale of flat before issuance of Completion Certificate (CC) is treated as supply of services and attracts GST at the chosen scheme rate. Sale after CC is treated as sale of immovable property — outside GST. The cut-off point is the issuance date of CC, not OC. This affects both timing of bookings and customer pricing strategy.
JDA is an agreement where the landowner contributes land and the developer contributes construction, with revenue or area shared between them. Tax treatment: for the landowner, it triggers capital gains under Section 45(5A) — the gains are taxed in the year the developer receives the Completion Certificate, not in the year of agreement (this deferral is significant). For the developer, project costing includes land cost recognition. GST applies under reverse charge on land transfer.
Section 45(5A) of the Income Tax Act provides that when a landowner enters into a JDA, capital gains tax on the land transfer is deferred to the year in which the developer receives the Completion Certificate (CC) — not the year of the JDA. Stamp duty value on the date of CC determines the consideration. This deferral can be 3-5 years and is critical for landowner cash flow. Often missed by generalist CAs.
Area share — landowner gets specific units (say 30% of saleable area). Simpler to administer. Tax under Section 45(5A) on stamp duty value of those units. Revenue share — landowner gets % of project sales revenue. More flexible but requires clear sales tracking and complicates GST. The right structure depends on landowner's tax position, project cash-flow needs, and exit timeline. We model both before signing.
Section 4(2)(l)(D) of RERA mandates that 70% of the amounts collected from buyers for a specific project must be deposited in a separate escrow account, used only for project construction and land cost. Withdrawals from this account require certification by an engineer, architect, and chartered accountant. Misuse triggers severe RERA penalties and possible criminal liability. We do the CA certification for these withdrawals.
Bank/NBFC project loan typically requires: detailed project report, projected cash flows (monthly), cost estimate certified by architect/CA, BOQ, mortgage of project land, escrow account opening with the lending bank, monthly drawdown plan, periodic site inspection rights, and end-use certificates from a CA. We prepare all CA-certified documentation in the format the bank's regional office wants — not a generic version that gets rejected.
Ind AS 115 — Revenue from Contracts with Customers — applies to companies preparing financials under Ind AS (typically listed entities, large unlisted entities, or those targeting an IPO). It changes revenue recognition for real estate from percentage-of-completion (Indian GAAP) to point-in-time recognition for most apartment sales (because performance obligations are typically satisfied at handover, not during construction). This shift can change reported revenue by 30-50% in early project years. If you are not Ind AS-applicable, current Indian GAAP percentage-of-completion continues.
Yes — if turnover exceeds the Section 44AB thresholds (₹1 Cr generally; ₹10 Cr if cash transactions are below 5%). For Pvt Ltd companies, statutory audit under Companies Act is mandatory regardless. Tax Audit Report (Form 3CA/3CB + 3CD) covers project-wise revenue, expense classification, GST reconciliation, related party transactions. We do project-segment disclosure that satisfies both statutory and tax audit.
The closure sequence: (1) CC (Completion Certificate) from local authority — triggers GST cutoff and Section 45(5A) for landowners; (2) OC (Occupancy Certificate) — required for handover; (3) RERA project closure filing on portal; (4) Final escrow account closure with reconciled withdrawals; (5) Final project P&L and tax computations. Each step has documentation requirements. We hand over a complete closure pack.
Yes — Section 194-IA: buyer must deduct 1% TDS on sale value above ₹50 lakhs (residential) when paying the developer. TDS is deposited via Form 26QB. As the developer, you receive the TDS certificate (Form 16B) and claim it against advance tax / final tax liability. We track this for every booking — both for buyer compliance support and for correct receivables reconciliation in your books.
Bring your project plan — RERA status, GST scheme, JDA structure, finance setup. We will map all four phases and flag every gap before they cost you.