GST Council cuts tax on under construction residential houses to 5%

The council also decided to lower the tax rate on affordable housing projects to 1% from 8%

In a big relief to home buyers, the GST Council Sunday slashed tax rates on under-construction housing properties to 5 per cent without input tax credit, from the existing 12 per cent, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.

The Council also cut GST rates on affordable housing to 1 per cent from the current 8 per cent and expanded the scope of affordable housing to those costing up to Rs 45 lakh and measuring 60 sq metre in metros and 90 sq metre in non-metro cities.

The new tax rates will come into effect from April 1, 2019.

Currently, the GST is levied at