« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  What Are 5 Heads Of Income Tax?  Income Tax Dept releases interim action plan for FY25 on tax collection, refund approvals   Income Tax Return: 5 lesser-known tax-saving tips from Section 80  Income Tax Return: 5 lesser-known tax-saving tips from Section 80  Why you need not rush to file your ITR immediately  Income tax returns: ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-4 forms for FY 2023-24 available for e-filing  Section 80DDB tax benefits for specified illnesses: 5 things to know  Income tax slabs FY 2024-25: Five tips to help taxpayers decide between old and new income tax regimes  ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-4 forms for FY 2023-24 (AY 2024-25) available now on e-filing income tax portal  How To Save Tax For Salary Above 15 Lakhs?  Tax Saving: Top 5 investment options to save maximum tax in 2024 «  PAN reform under way, says Chidambaram... FM to take up annual returns with I-T bosses... » I-T dept closes in on realty misuse July, 04th 2006 The income tax department has unearthed large scale misuse of the deduction on profits available under Section 80IB of the Income Tax Act by developers and builders of housing projects. The booming real estate sector seems to have spurred on the misuse of a deduction that was originally given to encourage construction of houses for the low and middle income groups. Sources said the misuse had mostly occurred among smaller builders and was rampant in cities like Bangalore and Mumbai. IT authorities have uncovered over Rs 200 crore worth of undisclosed income after conducting 60 surveys across the country in the last financial year. The deduction is contingent to the fulfillment of certain conditions including a cap on the size of the residential unit. Under the section, a residential unit cannot have a built-up area of more that 1,000 sq ft in cities like Delhi and Mumbai and 1,500 sq ft at other locations. Also, the built-up area of shops and other commercial establishments included in the housing project cannot exceed five per cent of the aggregate built-up area of the housing project or 2,000 sq ft, whichever is less. Sources added that in several cases, the misuse of the provisions was on account of the builders showing or declaring one flat as two separate flats in order to maintain the flat size restriction. In other cases, the commercial area was found to have exceeded the five per cent built-up area. The misuse has assumed serious proportions and is likely to be discussed at the annual meeting of the chief commissioners of income tax on Tuesday.