Karnataka Real Estate Appellate Tribunal

Section 43 of The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 contemplates establishment of the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal as a first appellate forum to deal with grievances against any direction or decision or order made by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority or by an Adjudicating officer, under the Act. In pursuance, thereof the government of Karnataka in compliance with proviso to sub Section (4) of Section 43 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 has designated the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal as a interim Real Estate Appellate Tribunal for the state of Karnataka stationed at Bengaluru Vide G.O.No.DOH 158 KHB 2017 dated 16/12/2017. The said interim appellate tribunal will function till 02/01/2020.

In compliance with Section 43(1) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 the Department of Housing, Government of Karnataka has established the Karnataka Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (KREAT) vide Notification No.DOH 44 RERA 2019 Dated 30/12/2019. The said appellate tribunal has commence its functioning with effect from 03/01/2020 at #1/14, second Floor (South wing), Silver Jubilee Block, Unity Building C.S.I compound, 3rd Cross, Mission Road, Bengaluru- 560027.

The territorial Jurisdiction of the Karnataka Real Estate Appellate Tribunal extends to the whole of Karnataka.

Composition of the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal

The appellate tribunal consists of a chairperson and two members, of whom one shall be a judicial member and other shall be a technical or administrative member.

Functions and Responsibility of the Appellate Tribunal

The appellate tribunal is empowered to hear appeals from the order or decision or direction of the real estate regulatory authority or adjudicating officer as the case may be

Nature of Proceedings before the Appellate Tribunal

All proceedings before the appellate tribunal shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings within the meaning of Section 123, 219 and 228 for the purposes of Section 196 of the Indian penal code, 1860 and appellate tribunal shall be deemed to be civil court for the purposes of Section 195 and chapter 26 the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

The Objects and Reasons of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016

The RERA is intended to achieve the following objectives:

• Ensure accountability towards allottees and protect their interest;
• Infuse transparency, ensure fair-play and reduce frauds and delays;
• Introduce professionalism and pan India standardization;
• Establish symmetry of information between the promoter and allottees;
• Impose certain responsibilities on both promoter and allottees;
• Establish regulatory oversight mechanism to enforce contracts;
• Establish fast-track dispute resolution mechanism;
• Promote good governance in the sector which in turn would create investor confidence;

The Form and Manner of Filling Appeals

Every appeal under Section 44(1) of the Act, 2016 shall be preferred within a period of 60 days from the date on which a copy of the direction or order or decision made by the authority or the adjudicating officer is received by the aggrieved person and it shall be in web based form ‘R’ [Vide rule 33 of the Karnataka Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017] as provided in E-filing portal of the RERA Karnataka along with following documents, namely

• Authenticated copy of the order against which the appeal is filed
• Copies of the documents relied upon by the appellant and referred to in the appeal; and
• An index of the documents.

Apart from e-filing of the appeal in form ‘R’ and annexures, the Memorandum of appeal along with annexures shall also be furnished in triplicate in the filing counter of the tribunal.

When an appeal is presented after expiry of the period of limitation as specified in the Act, Such memorandum of appeal shall be accompanied by an application supported by an affidavit setting forth the facts on which the appellant relies to satisfy the tribunal that they had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within the period of limitation

No new documents which have not been produced or relied on before the Authority or Adjudicating Officer, shall be produced at the time of filing of Appeal. However, parties can file additional documents along with an application under Order 41 Rule 27 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 and the same shall be considered by the Appellate Tribunal while hearing the Appeal, after giving an opportunity to the other side.

Filing Procedure

Every appeal shall be filed through online system by e-filing facilitated in the web portal of RERA Karnataka by furnishing party details, address proof, ID proof, Email ID, Mobile number and other requisite information sought in the field provided therein.

The parties shall upload the contents of Memorandum of appeal and application/s if any, or by way of uploading the same in PDF form. Similarly the documents relied and referred to in the Appeal shall be uploaded in PDF form.

Upon online registration as a Appellant, and post e-filing procedure stated above, if the appeal is presented through an Advocate, necessary vakalath duly affixed with welfare fund stamp shall be filed in filing counter of the registry of the appellate tribunal. The said vakalath shall contain address of the Advocate with enrolment number, Email ID, Mobile number etc., for proper communication.

In the event an appeal is filled by an authorised representative, such as Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant, Company Secretary as provided in Section 56 of the Act, 2016 true copy of power of attorney or authorisation letter shall be filed, the original of such documents shall also be produced for verification in the Registry of the tribunal. The parties shall also furnish originals or authenticated copies of such documents uploaded to the portal in the filing counter of the Tribunal or through the registered post. The certified copies of impugned orders or direction or decision of the regulatory authority or adjudicating officer, as the case may be, shall also be filled in the filing counter.

In the event of filing any application, Review Petition, Caveat Petition or Execution Petition, it is the above E-filing procedure shall follow.

The fee payable

Every appeal filed under sub-section (1) of Section 44 shall be accompanied by a fee of Rs 5,000/- ( rupees five thousand) in the form of a demand draft or a banker’s cheque drawn on a scheduled bank or a co-operative bank in favour of the appellate tribunal or through online payment.

Enforcement of Judgement/ Orders Passed by Appellate Tribunal

As contemplated under Section 57 of the RERA Act and Rule 26 of the Karnataka Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules 2017, every judgement, order made by the appellate tribunal shall be executed by the tribunal as a decree of civil court. Notwithstanding the said powers of the tribunal, the appellate tribunal may transmit any order made by it to a civil court having local Jurisdiction and such civil court shall execute the order as if it were a decree made by the court.

Penalty for failure to comply with order of the appellate tribunal by promoter

Section 64 of the RERA Act, 2016 contemplates, If any promoter fails to comply with or contravenes any of the orders, decisions or directions of the appellate tribunal, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend upto 3 years or with fine for every day during which such default continues, which may cumulatively extend upto 10% of the estimated cost of the Real Estate Project or with both.

Penalty for failure to comply with orders of the appellate tribunal by Real Estate agent

Section 66 of the RERA Act, 2016 contemplates, if any Real Estate agent fails to comply with or contravenes any of the orders, decisions or directions of the appellate tribunal shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend upto 1 year or with fine for every day during which such default continues, which may cumulatively extend upto 10% of the estimated cost of plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, of the real estate project, for which the sale or purchase has been facilitated, or with both.

Penalty for failure to comply with order of the appellate tribunal by Allottee

Section 68 of the RERA Act, 2016 contemplates, if any allottee fails to comply with or contravenes any of the orders, or directions of the appellate tribunal shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend upto 1 year or with fine for every day during which such default continues, which may cumulatively extend upto 10% of the plot, apartment or building cost, as the case may be or with both.

Regulations

As contemplated under sub-section (2) of Section 53 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, the Karnataka Real Estate Appellate Tribunal has framed the Regulations known as Karnataka State Appellate Tribunal Regulations, 2019 so as to adopt its own practice and procedure.

Working Days and Office Hours of the Appellate Tribunal

Calendar, Working Hours and Sitting:

• The Calendar of days of working of the Tribunal in a year shall follow that of the Calendar of the Karnataka High Court.
• The office hours of the office of the Tribunal on all working days shall be from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., with lunch break from 2.00 p.m. to 3.00 p.m., except on Saturdays. On Saturdays, the office hours shall be between 10.00 a.m. and 2.00 pm.
• The sitting hours of the Tribunal on the days of working i.e., from Monday to Friday shall be from 11.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. and 3.00 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.
• The sitting of the Tribunal shall be at Bengaluru or such other places within its jurisdiction as may be decided by the Chairperson.
• Only during the summer vacation, if need be, a vacation bench shall be constituted by the Chairperson. Such vacation bench shall be sitting once a week as may be decided by the Chairperson.
• During the vacation, the office of the Tribunal shall remain open on all sitting days from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., with lunch break from 2.00 p.m. to 3.00 p.m., and on Saturdays from 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.
• During vacation, on non-sitting days, the Office of the Tribunal shall be open on all working days from Monday to Saturday from 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m

Office –

Real Estate Appellate Tribunal Karnataka

2nd floor, Silver Jubli Block,

Unity Building, CSI Compound

3rd Cross, Misson Road

Bengaluru, Karnataka 560027