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Modi's cash crackdown, new laws hurt India's real estate sector

Published Mon, Nov 13, 2017 · 09:50 PM

Mumbai

INDIA'S property sector was already battling a slowdown last year, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's crackdown on cash quashed any hope of an imminent revival.

Removing 86 per cent of cash, at the time a key part of many real estate transactions, dented sales and new launches of residential projects, which make up 80 per cent of the market.

The government's clean-up measures have since continued, with new home-buyer protections rolled out in May and a nationwide sales tax in July, both further constraining the industry as developers focused on compliance.

Underlying all these changes is Mr Modi's aim of hobbling the shadow economy and widening the tax net.

That real estate was hit hard isn't surprising when you consider the sector was last year estimated to account for a large share of illicit deals that use …

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