Details of Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (General) Regulations, 2022
The real estate industry is governed by multiple laws viz., central, state and local / municipal laws. In spite of having many laws, the government realized that the real estate sector needs a comprehensive regulation and development to have orderly growth and attract the attention of the globe for investments etc.
With the efforts of various stakeholders viz., industry associations, NGO’s, activist the Act is enacted by the central government as it falls in the concurrent list in Schedule 7 of the constitution of India. Hence new law is called The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016, is completely effective from 1st May 2017.
The legislation has been envisaged to bring accountability and transparency in the sector for improving governance, for protecting the consumer interest and speedy mechanism for adjudication of disputes. The Act is expected to promote professionalism, standardization and orderly growth which will increase foreign/private investment in the sector. Act contains 10 chapters and 92 sections–
| Sections | Provisions of the Act |
| 1 – 2 | Applicability and Definition |
| 3 to 8 | Real Estate Project Registration, Extension, Revocation of project |
| 9 to 10 | Real Estate Registration and functions |
| 11 to 18 | Functions, duties, obligations of the Promoter of the Real estate projects |
| 19 | Rights and Duties of the Allottees in the project |
| 20 to 40 | Establishment of Real Estate Regulatory Authority |
| 41 to 42 | Central Advisory Council |
| 43 to 58 | Establishment to Real Estate Appellate Tribunal |
| 59 to 72 | Offences, Penalties and Adjudication |
| 73 to 78 | Finance, Accounts, Audit and Reports |
| 79 to 92 | Miscellaneous |
–
| Sections | Effective from |
| 2,
20 to 39 41 to 58 71 to 78 81 to 92 |
Came into effect from 1st May 2016 |
| 3 to 10
11 to 19 40 59 to 70 79 to 80 |
Came into effect from 1st May 2017 |
The Act is wide enough to cover various aspects of the Real Estate Project to achieve discipline, standardization and transparency among various stakeholders viz.,
1. Mandatory Registration of Real estate project before advertisement, marketing or sale
2. Mandatory Registration of Real estate agents, who involve in marketing the real estate projects
3. Obtaining Sanction plans, NOC, approvals mandatory before launching of the real estate project
4. Ensuring the legal ownership of the project land
5. Advertisements, ethical and responsible practices
6. Financial management – utilization of funds, credibility and ability of the promoters
7. Standard and uniform legal agreements – Agreement of sale
8. Defect liability – Quality and warranty
9. Title guarantee of the Land
10. Proper communication, consent of the customers in case of modification in plans, specifications
11. Development of project with in timelines and as per the plan sanction
12. Mandatory obtaining of completion certificate from planning authority
13. Compensation in case of delay or non-adherence
14. Timely payment of dues by the allottees
15. Participation by the allottees – possession, association formation etc
16. Allottees liable to pay Interest in case of delay payment of installments
17. Complaint, Adjudication, Appeal and Dispute resolution.
18. Many more…
In order to achieve, the power is conferred in the Act under Section 20, the appropriate government (State/UT’s) shall, within a period of one year from the date of coming into force of this Act, by notification, establish an Authority to be known as the Real Estate Regulatory Authority to exercise the powers conferred on it and to perform the functions assigned to it under this Act.
Accordingly, the State Governments has appointed the Authorities, known as RERA Authority. As per Section 20 (1) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA Act), in Karnataka, Interim Real Estate Regulatory Authority was established on 14-July-2017 and was functioning till 06-March-2019. Vide Government notification No. DOH24RERA2017 dated 05-March-2019, the regular Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority is established and functioning from 07-March-2019.
Further in exercise of the power conferred on it under 85(1) of the RERA Act, the Authority shall, within a period of three months of its establishment, by notification, make regulations, consistent with this Act and the rules made thereunder to carry out the purpose of this Act.
GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA has notified the REGULATIONS vide No. DOH 27 RERA 2019 dated 27th October 2022 and the details are as follows –
Title, commencement and application– (1) These regulations may be called the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (General) Regulations, 2022.
They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the official Gazette (i.e., WEF 27th Oct 2022)
These regulations shall apply to all matters falling within the jurisdiction of the Authority in the state of Karnataka.
The details of the regulations are as follows –
| Regulation No | Regulation details | Details |
| 1 | Title, commencement and application | |
| 2 | Definitions | Definitions are Defined from regulations 2(a) to 2(p) – |
| (j) “Media” means and include newspapers, magazines, periodicals, journals, radio, television, internet and other social media platforms;
(k)“No Lien Account” means a Bank Account without any third party rights or security interests; (l) “No Lien fixed deposit” means the fixed deposit without any third party rights or security interests; (n) “RERA Bank Account” means the separate Bank Account to be maintained by the promoter in the local branch of a scheduled bank, where the project is going on, as per sub-clause (D) of clause (l ) of sub-section (2) of section 4 of the Act; |
||
| 3 | Formats of Certificates – | Authority has notified the various formats and details are as mentioned – |
| 4 | Language of the Authority | shall be Kannada and English |
| 5 | Seal and emblem | shall have its own official seal and emblem |
| 6 | Computation of time | shall be reckoned exclusive of the said day or of the day of the act or event from which the time runs and in case of holiday, it is next working day |
| 7 | Meeting of the Authority | as and when necessary to transact its business, but not less than four times in a year |
| 8 | Quorum for meeting of the Authority | minimum of one-half of the appointed members present, with minimum of two members |
| 9 | Minutes of meeting of the Authority | |
| 10 | Obligation of members at the meeting | |
| 11 | Procedure for scrutiny of complaint, reference and review petition | Form-N or Form-O to the K RERA Rules |
| 12 | Adjudication proceedings | |
| 13 | Authorised representative | |
| 14 | Collection of information | |
| 15 | Investigation | |
| 16 | Orders of the Authority | |
| 17 | Interim order | |
| 18 | Compliance of orders | |
| 19 | Certified copies of the order | |
| 20 | Inspection of records | |
| 21 | Destruction of records | |
| 22 | Continuance of proceedings after death, etc | |
| 23 | Effect of non-compliance | |
| 24 | Power to remove difficulties | |
| 25 | Saving of Inherent power of the Authority | |
| 26 | General power to amend or rectify | |
| 27 | Extension or abridgement of time prescribed | |
| 28 | Costs | |
| 29 | RERA Bank Account |
Formats and reference of certificate Numbers in the Regulation –
| Certificate Name | Certificate Format | Professional to issue the certificates | Reference |
| Post / Registration | Form – 1 | Chartered Accountant | Regulation 3 (1)(i) |
| Post / Registration | Form – 2 | Architect | Regulation 3 (1)(i) |
| Post / Registration | Form – 3 | Engineer | Regulation 3 (1)(i) |
| Quarterly updates | Form – 4 | Chartered Accountant | Regulation 3 (1)(ii) |
| Quarterly updates | Form – 5 | Architect | Regulation 3 (1)(ii) |
| Quarterly updates | Form – 6 | Engineer | Regulation 3 (1)(ii) |
| annual audit report | Form – 7 | Chartered Accountant | Regulation 3 (1)(iii) |
| Change of the RERA Bank Account | Form – B1 | Promoter Application | Regulation 3 (1)(iv) |
| Change of the RERA Bank Account | Form – B1-A | Chartered Accountant | Regulation 3 (1)(v) |
| Change of the RERA Bank Account | Form – B2 | Issued by the existing Banker (70% RERA Account) – NOC | Regulation 3 (1)(vi) |
| Change of the RERA Bank Account | Form – B3 | The proposed Banker to confirm transfer of funds to RERA Bank Account | Regulation 3 (1)(vii) |
| Change of the RERA Bank Account | Form – B4 | Promoter | Regulation 3 (1)(viii) |
| Project extension | Form – F1 | Project architect in practice | Regulation 3 (1)(ix)
Certificate on status of work and pending work |
| Project extension | Form – F2 | Chartered Accountant in practice | Regulation 3 (1)(x)
Certificate on amount of funds incurred and balance fund required |
| Project extension | Form – F3 | project engineer in practice | Regulation 3 (1)(xi) Certificate on status of work and pending work |
| Modification of the sanctioned plan | Form – M | Consent letter from the allottees | Regulation 3 (1)(xii)
Section 14 of the RERA Act |
| application for change of – project name | Form – U | Promoter | Regulation 3 (1)(xiii)
Application for change in Project Name |
| change of the promoter | Form – V | Promoter
Application for change in promoter |
Regulation 3 (1)(xiv)
Section 15 of the RERA Act |
Important clauses in the regulations – professionals shall advice the promoters (clients) in order to comply with the regulations –
1. Professionals engaged during the project registration shall not be removed (Designated chartered accountant, architect or engineer) without prior concurrence of the Authority
2. The chartered accountant certifying the progress of the registered real estate project for the purpose of withdrawal of amounts (FORM 4) from the RERA Bank Account shall be a different entity than the chartered accountant who is statutory auditor of the promoter’s
3. If the Form–7 issued by the statutory auditor reveals that any certificate issued by the chartered accountant, project architect or project engineer has false or incorrect information, the amount collected for a particular project has not been utilised for the project or withdrawals are not commensurate with the development of the project, the Authority shall, apart from taking action against the promoter under the Act, and rules and regulations made there under, shall also bring the matter to the concerned respective regulatory body of the said chartered accountant, architect or project engineer, for necessary penal action against them. (Here concerned regulatory body may be ICAI, CoA, IIE etc)
4. The sanctioned plans and lay-out plans, along with the specifications approved by the competent authority, shall be prominently displayed by the promoter at the project site and the registered office of the promoter. Non-compliance of this shall be deemed to be contravention under cause (a) of sub- section (1) of section 7 of the Act and shall be liable for penalty under section 61 of the Act
Regulation 29 – RERA Bank Account – details
1. The RERA Bank Account shall be a No Lien account
2. withdrawal from the account shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Act, rules and regulations made thereunder.
3. The amount withdrawn from the RERA Bank Account shall be utilised for the purpose of completion of the same real estate project.
4. However, there is no end use restriction on the amount which is withdrawn from the RERA Bank Account, in accordance with the provisions of the Act, rules and regulations made there under
5. A RERA Bank Account shall be opened before applying for registration and
6. Separate Bank account maintained for each of the registered project of the promoter,
7. A RERA Bank Account shall be opened at local branch of a scheduled bank, where the project is going
8. Details of the RERA Bank Account shall be submitted along with the project registration
9. It shall be required to suffix the term “RERA Designated account for name of the project, real estate project” with the name of the account
1. Illustration: if the name of the promoter is M/s ABC Ltd and the name of the project is XYZ, then the name of the account shall be “ABC-RERA Designated Account of XYZ”.
10. Each project shall have only one RERA Bank Account. In case of multiple promoters, necessary contractual or legal arrangements shall be made by the principal promoter, who shall register the project, to ensure proper operation of the account (means landowners and developer to deposit the 70 % amount to RERA Designated bank account)
11. The promoter shall deposit seventy percent of the amount collected or realized from allottees (other than pass through charges and indirect taxes)
12. In case of project which is higher than the estimated value of sales revenue, hundred percent of the amount collected from the allottees (other than pass through charges and indirect taxes), shall be deposited in the RERA Bank Account
13. The money present in the RERA Bank Account may be kept in fixed deposit with the bank and such fixed deposit shall be No Lien Fixed Deposit and no loan shall be obtained against and no charge shall be created on such fixed deposit
14. In case of a fixed deposit being made from the money in the RERA Bank Account, the chartered accountant shall verify that there is no lien or charge on such fixed deposit.
15. The promoter and/or chartered accountant shall obtain the no lien or charge certificate in respect to such fixed deposit from the bank once in every three months and submit the same as part of quarterly compliance
16. The promoter shall append copy of the RERA Bank Account pass book statement certified by chartered accountant to Form – 4, as part of the project quarterly return
17. The promoter may change the RERA Bank Account from one bank to another bank only with prior permission of the Authority by making application
18. Power of the Authority: Upon revocation of the registration, the Authority may direct the bank holding the RERA Bank Account, to freeze or de-freeze the said account, to facilitate the remaining development works in accordance with the provisions of clause (c) of sub-section (4) of section 7 and section 8 of the
19. The Authority may, in the interest of the allottees, enquire into the payment of amount out of RERA Bank
Conclusion – promoters and professionals shall refer the RERA Act, Rules, notification along with these Regulations in order to comply with the provisions of the statute.
GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA
No. DOH 27 RERA 2019
Karnataka Government Secretariat,
Vikasa Soudha,
Bengaluru, dated:27.10.2022.
NOTIFICATION
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 85 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (Central Act 16 of 2016), the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority, with the approval of the State Government, hereby makes the following regulations, namely: –
REGULATIONS
1. Title, commencement and application.– (1) These regulations may be called the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (General) Regulations, 2022.
(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the official Gazette.
(3) These regulations shall apply to all matters falling within the jurisdiction of the Authority in the state of Karnataka.
2. Definitions.– (1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, –
(a) “Act” means the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (Central Act 16 of 2016);
(b) “Address for service” means the address furnished by the party or applicant or his authorized agent or legal practitioner or chartered accountant or company secretary or cost accountant, at which service of the summons, notice or other processes may be effected;
(c) “Adjudication” means the process of arriving at decisions on complaints submitted to the Authority or the Adjudicating Officer under section 31 of the Act;
(d) “Authority” means the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority established under sub-section (1) of section 20 of the Act;
(e) “Certified copy” means as defined under section 76 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (Central Act 1 of 1872);
(f) “Code” means the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act 5 of 1908) in relation to civil matters and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974) in relation to criminal matters;
(g) “Complainant” means a person who has filed a complaint before the Authority or the adjudicating officer under section 31 or 71 of the Act;
(h) “Consultant” means and includes any person who may be appointed as such to assist the Authority on any matter required to be dealt with, by the Authority under the Act, and rules and regulations made there under;
(i) “Form” means the form appended to these regulations;
(j) “Media” means and include newspapers, magazines, periodicals, journals, radio, television, internet and other social media platforms;
(k) “No Lien Account” means a Bank Account without any third party rights or security interests;
(l) “No Lien fixed deposit” means the fixed deposit without any third party rights or security interests;
(m) “Officer” means an officer of the Authority;
(n) “RERA Bank Account” means the separate Bank Account to be maintained by the promoter in the local branch of a scheduled bank, where the project is going on, as per sub-clause (D) of clause (l ) of sub-section (2) of section 4 of the Act;
(o) “Rules” mean the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017;
and
(p) “Secretary” means the secretary of the Authority;
(2) Words and expressions used but not defined in these regulations shall have the same meanings assigned to them in the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (Central Act 16 of 2016) and rules made thereunder.
3. Formats of Certificates.- (1) The promoter shall designate a chartered accountant, architect and engineer who shall issue certificates for the project to enable the withdrawal of amounts from the RERA Bank Account and for work completion and such designated chartered accountant, architect or engineer shall not be removed, without prior concurrence of the Authority. The certificates shall be issued in the following manner, namely:-
(i) The certificate to be issued by the chartered accountant, project architect and project engineer, in practice for post-registration of the real estate project shall be in Form-1, Form-2 and Form-3 respectively;
(ii) the certificate required to be issued by the chartered accountant, project architect and project engineer in practice, for quarterly updates of the real estate project shall be in Form-4, Form-5 and Form-6 respectively;
(iii) the annual audit report on statement of accounts shall be in Form-7, which shall be issued in accordance with clause (l) of sub-section (2) of section 4 of the Act and shall be certified and signed by the statutory auditor of the promoter’s enterprise;
(iv) application for the change of RERA Bank Account shall be in Form-B1;
(v) the certificate to be issued by the chartered accountant for change of the RERA Bank Account shall be in Form-B1-A;
(vi) the certificate to be issued by the existing Bank for change of RERA Bank Account shall be in Form-B2;
(vii) the certificate to be issued by the proposed Bank for transfer of funds to RERA Bank Account shall be in Form-B3;
(viii) the certificate to be issued by the promoter on confirmation of change of RERA Bank Account shall be in Form-B4;
(ix) the certificate to be issued by the project architect in practice for project extension about status of work and pending work shall be in Form-F1;
(x) the certificate to be issued by the chartered accountant in practice for project extension about fund required shall be in Form–F2;
(xi) the certificate to be issued by the project engineer in practice for project extension about status of work and pending work shall be in Form–F3;
(xii) the consent letter from the allottees for modification of the sanctioned plan shall be in Form–M
(xiii) the application for change of project name, address, RERA Bank Account details, promoter name, address or e-mail address or mobile number shall be in Form–U;; and
(xiv) the application for change of the promoter shall be in Form–V.
Explanation: The chartered accountant certifying the progress of the registered real estate project for the purpose of withdrawal of amounts from the RERA Bank Account shall be a different entity than the chartered accountant who is statutory auditor of the promoter’s enterprise.
(2) If the Form–7 issued by the statutory auditor reveals that any certificate issued by the chartered accountant, project architect or project engineer has false or incorrect information, the amount collected for a particular project has not been utilised for the project or withdrawals are not commensurate with the development of the project, the Authority shall, apart from taking action against the promoter under the Act, and rules and regulations made there under, shall also bring the matter to the concerned respective regulatory body of the said chartered accountant, architect or project engineer, for necessary penal action against them.
(3) The sanctioned plans and lay-out plans, along with the specifications approved by the competent authority, shall be prominently displayed by the promoter at the project site and the registered office of the promoter. Non compliance of this shall be deemed to be contravention under cause (a) of subsection (1) of section 7 of the Act and shall be liable for penalty under section 61 of the Act.
4. Language of the Authority.- The language of the Authority shall be Kannada and English.
5. Seal and emblem.- The Authority shall have its own official seal and emblem and any document requiring authentication by the Authority shall be issued under the seal of the Authority and shall be signed by the secretary or any other officer authorised by the Chairperson on this behalf.
6. Computation of time.- (1) Where a period of time and date from a specified day, act or event is specified by or allowed under these regulations for doing an act or taking a proceeding, the time shall be reckoned exclusive of the said day or of the day of the act or event from which the time runs.
(2) Where the time specified by or allowed under these regulations for doing an act or taking a proceeding expires on a holiday or on a day on which the office of the Authority is closed, the act may be done or the proceeding may be taken on the next working day or on the day on which the office is open.
7. Meeting.- (1) The Authority shall meet, as and when it is deemed necessary to transact its business, but not less than four times in a year.
(2) The Chairperson or in his absence, by a member nominated by the Chairperson in this behalf, shall fix the date, time and place of a meeting of the Authority and approve the subjects of agenda for the meeting.
(3) The Chairperson shall be required to convene a meeting of the Authority if any two members request for such a meeting, in writing:
Provided that, if the Chairperson is not available, any two members may, in writing, require the designated officer to convene such meeting of the Authority.
(4) Any business of the Authority may be transacted by circulation of papers to the members and acted upon, if approved. The resolution shall be placed before the Authority in the next meeting for its confirmation.
(5) Every meeting of the Authority shall normally be held at its head office, at such time as may be specified in the notice. When circumstances render it expedient to hold a meeting elsewhere, the same may, with approval of the Chairperson, be so held at any other place in Karnataka. In such a case, the notice convening such meeting shall specify the time and place of the meeting.
(6) Remote participation: The meeting may be carried out using video-conferencing or any other electronic means. Members who participate in a meeting remotely shall be counted in establishing the quorum or majority. In the event of a remote participation, attendance records shall be noted as “Remote participation” by the secretary.
(7) Not less than three working days notice shall ordinarily be given of each meeting of the Authority and such notice along with agenda shall be sent to every member, three working days in advance at his usual address in India as furnished by him to the Authority.
(8) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-regulation (1), where a requisitioned meeting of the Authority is required to be convened, three days notice may not be required. However, sufficient notice shall be given to the members to enable them to attend the meeting.
(9) The notice, agenda and the minutes shall be delivered to the members personally upon acknowledgement or dispatched through registered post or transmitted through any other secure and reliable modern means of communication, as may be recognized under law for the time being in force.
(10) No business other than that for which the meeting has been convened shall be discussed at a meeting of the Authority, except with the consent of the Chairperson or the member presiding at the meeting and a majority of the members present.
8. Quorum for meeting.- (1) The quorum for transaction of business at a meeting of the Authority shall be a minimum of one-half of the appointed members present, with minimum of two members.
Explanation: While calculating the one-half of total strength under sub-regulation (1), if any fraction that might arise, shall be disregarded.
(2) If the quorum is not formed within half an hour from the time appointed for holding a meeting, the Chairperson or the presiding member, as the case may be, shall adjourn the meeting for such hour on some other day as he may deem fit and the notice of such adjournment shall be given to all the members along with the business which was to have been brought before the original meeting. If the quorum is not formed at the meeting so adjourned, the members present at the meeting shall form the quorum.
9. Minutes of meeting.- (1) The secretary or the designated officer shall record the minutes of meeting and maintain a register which shall, amongst other things, contain the name and designation of the members and invitees present in the meeting, a record of the proceedings and notes of dissent, if any. The draft minutes shall, as soon as practicable, be sent to the Chairperson and the attending members.
If no comments or confirmation is received from a member within seven days, the minutes shall be issued with approval of the Chairperson or presiding member. The designated officer shall also communicate, with the approval of the Chairperson or the presiding member, the minutes or extracts of the decision taken at the meeting to all concerned for necessary follow-up action and monitor their compliance by evolving a suitable reporting system. Periodical reports on follow-up action shall be submitted to the Authority.
(2) The minutes of the previous meeting shall be confirmed by circulation or at the next meeting of the Authority. The confirmed minutes shall be signed by the Chairperson or presiding member and taken on record thereafter. Each page of every book shall be initialled or signed and the last page of the record of the confirmed proceedings of each meeting in such books shall be dated and signed by the Chairperson or the presiding member and shall be taken on record.
(3) The minutes of the proceedings kept in accordance with these regulations shall be evidence of the proceedings recorded therein.
(4) The Authority shall cause the minutes of all the proceedings to be maintained in the books kept for the purpose which may be in the form of binders containing loose leaves, duly numbered and bound regularly. In no case the minutes of the proceedings of a meeting shall be attached to any such book as aforesaid by pasting or otherwise.
(5) Notwithstanding anything in sub-regulation (5), the minutes may also be kept by way of micro films or any other authentic modern means of safe storing and retrieval of records or printed material produced by a computer, if the same is recognised under any law for time being in force and subject to the conditions, restrictions or safeguards specified in such law.
(6) The minutes of each meeting shall contain a fair and correct summary of the decision arrived at the meeting.
(7) The minutes shall also contain the name of the members present at the meeting and in the case of each decision taken at the meeting, the names of the members, if any, dissenting from or not concurring with the decision taken by majority.
(8) Nothing contained in this regulation shall deem to require the inclusion in any such minutes of any matter which are detrimental to the interest of the Authority.
Explanation: The Chairperson or the presiding member, as the case may be, shall exercise discretion in regard to the inclusion or non-inclusion of any matter in the minutes as specified in this sub-regulation.
(9) Invitees at meeting: Any person, whose presence at a meeting is desired for consultation or advice, may be invited to attend the meeting by the Chairperson.
10. Obligation of members at the meeting.- (1) A member shall attend all the meetings of the Authority, unless leave of absence has been sought and the same has been granted by the Chairperson or the presiding member. Such leave of absence shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.
(2) Any member who has a direct or indirect pecuniary or other interest in any matter, including those relating to immediate family, coming up for consideration in the meeting, shall not take part in such deliberation or decision of the Authority, with respect to that matter.
Explanation: For the purpose of this regulation, ‘immediate family’ means spouse, children (whether biological or adopted), parents, brothers, sisters or any person related by blood or marriage, whether he is dependent on such member or not.
11. Procedure for scrutiny of complaint, reference and review petition.-(1) The complaints regarding compensation etc., in Form-N or Form-O (the forms appended to the rules) shall be lodged in the Karnataka RERA web portal, along with the fee specified. Whenever an unregistered real estate project is brought to the notice of the Authority, it may direct the complainant to provide the details of promoter and address to enquire.
(2) If the Authority finds after due enquiry that the particular project has to be registered with the Authority, the Authority shall initiate appropriate proceedings to register the project.
(3) Each complaint, appeal, review petition or reference received by the Authority shall be scrutinized by the authorised officer to check whether it conforms to these regulations and the defects, if any, shall be communicated to the party within a seven days.
(4) The Authority, by order, shall have the powers of formation of benches among the Chairperson and members, for effective and timely disposal of the complaint, appeal, review application, revision petition or reference or to exercise any of its powers.
(5) Nothing contained herein shall preclude the Authority from using the contents of such complaint, appeal, petition, revision application, review petition or reference in any manner as may be deemed fit, for inquiring into any possible contravention of any provisions of the Act, and rules and regulations made there under.
12. Adjudication proceedings.- For adjudication proceedings with respect to complaints filed with the Authority, the Authority may, by order, direct that specific matters or issues be heard and decided by a single bench of either the chairperson or any member of the Authority.
13. Authorised representative.- A person who is a party to any proceedings before the Authority may either appear in person or authorize any other person to present his case before the Authority and to do all or any of the acts for that purpose:
Provided that, the person appearing on behalf of any person in any proceeding before the Authority, shall file a memorandum of authorization, prior to the proceedings and an acknowledgement shall be obtained for the same.
14. Collection of information.- The Authority may issue such directions for the purpose of collection of any information, particulars or documents that the Authority may consider necessary in connection with the discharge of its functions under the Act, and rules and regulations made there under.
15. Investigation.- (1) The Authority at any time, direct the secretary or any other officer or person as the Authority considers appropriate, to study, investigate or furnish information with respect to any matter within the jurisdiction of the Authority, under the Act, and rules and regulations made there under.
(2) The Authority may, for the above purpose of sub-regulation (1), give such other directions as it may deem fit and state the time within which the report is to be submitted or information be furnished.
16. Orders of the Authority.- (1) The Authority (Chairperson or member) hearing the proceeding shall pass orders with reasons and such orders shall be signed by the Chairperson or member of the Authority, hearing such proceeding.
(2) All the orders and decisions issued by the Authority shall be certified by the signature of the secretary or an officer empowered on this behalf by the Chairperson and shall be affixed with the seal of the Authority and be communicated, as expeditiously as possible from the date of passing thereof, to all the parties of the proceeding.
17. Interim order.- The Authority may pass such ad-interim or interim order, as the Authority may consider appropriate at any stage of the proceedings, having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case.
18. Compliance of orders.- The Authority or the Adjudicating officer shall have the power to direct the parties concerned to file an affidavit of compliance of its order or such other document in the manner specified in its order.
19. Certified copies of the order.- (1) The Authority shall, on such terms and conditions as it considers appropriate, provide for supply of certified copies of documents or final order or judgment and order papers available with it to any person, applying in the specified form, by making payment of rupees one hundred per copy of the order, containing up to a maximum of ten pages. If the pages exceed ten, then for every extra page a sum of rupees two per copy shall be paid.
(2) The parties to the proceedings are entitled to get a copy of the final order or judgment and order of the Authority or the Adjudicating officer, either by post or in person, free of cost:
Provided that, if required the additional copy, by the parties, shall be provided on payment of fee as specified in sub-regulation (1).
(3) The Authority shall designate an officer for ensuring timely response to the requests received for supply of certified copies of documents, who shall endeavor to dispatch the certified copies of the documents requested for, as
expeditiously as possible, within a period of thirty working days from the date of receipt of request.
(4) The Authority may, by order, classify any information, document and papers or materials maintained by it, to be confidential or privileged and direct that it shall not be available for inspection or supply of certified copy. The Authority may also direct that such document, paper or material shall not be used in any manner, except as specifically authorized by it.
(5) In case of maps, plans etc., a reasonable fee having regard to the skill, labour and time required for preparing the copy shall be fixed in each case by the secretary or officer in-charge and the same shall be deposited by the party applying for it. The whole of such fee so fixed shall be paid to the person employed for preparing such copy, who shall use his own material for that purpose.
(6) Before a copy is delivered, it shall be certified and sealed by the authorised officer in the manner prescribed under section 76 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
(7) The Authority may, by an order, fix standard fee to be levied on the promoters, real estate agents or allottees, for inspection of documents, certified copies of documents and database management.
20. Inspection of records.- Inspection of documents shall be allowed in accordance with the Right to Information Act, 2005 (Central Act 22 of 2005) and rules made there under.
21. Destruction of records.- (1) Records pertaining to general administration, accounts and service matters of the employees and officers of the Authority shall be maintained as specified by the State Government.
(2) Records pertaining to registration of projects and complaints shall be maintained as per the procedure specified under Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
(3) One copy of the entire file including note file and documents pertaining to the registration of projects shall be kept as permanent record. The other copies of the same registration file shall be destroyed after a period of six years from the date of registration.
(4) Records of the Authority, except permanent records, shall be destroyed by the order of the designated officer, after six years from the final conclusion of the proceedings and if any appeal is filed under section 44 of the Act, the same shall be destroyed after two years from the date of disposal of the appeal only after the approval of the Authority. The documents shall be destroyed in such manner, so as to render them unfit for any misuse.
(5) Entries regarding destruction shall be made in the relevant columns of the destruction register maintained in the specified format.
Explanation: Permanent records shall include orders, complaint register, interlocutory application register and such other records, as may be ordered to be included by the Chairperson.
22. Continuance of proceedings after death, etc.- (1) Where in a proceeding, any of the parties dies or is adjudicated as insolvent or in the case of a company, under liquidation or being wound up, the proceeding shall continue with the successors-in-interest, executor, administrator, receiver, liquidator or other legal representative of the party concerned, as the case may be.
(2) In case any person proposes to bring on record, the successors-in-interest, an application for the purpose shall be filed within the due date of the disposal of the complaint or application.
23. Effect of non-compliance.- Failure to comply with any requirement of these regulations shall not invalidate any proceeding, merely by reason of such failure, unless the Authority or the adjudicating officer is of the view that such failure has resulted in miscarriage of justice.
24. Power to remove difficulties.– If any difficulty arises in giving effect to any of the provisions of these regulations, the Authority may, by general or special order, do anything which is not inconsistent with the provisions of the Act and rules made thereunder, which appears to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of removing the difficulties.
25. Saving of Inherent power of the Authority.- (1) Nothing in these regulations shall be deemed to limit or otherwise affect the inherent power of the Authority to make such orders as may be necessary for meeting the ends of justice or to prevent the abuse of the process of the Authority.
(2) Nothing in these regulations shall bar the Authority from adopting in conformity with the provisions of the Act or rules made thereunder, a procedure, which is at variance with any of the provisions of these regulations including summary procedures, if the Authority, in view of the special circumstance of a matter or class of matters and for reasons to be recorded in writing, deems it necessary or expedient for so dealing with such a matter or class of matters.
(3) Nothing in these regulations shall bar the Authority to deal with any matter or exercise any power under the Act or rules made thereunder for which no regulations have been framed and the Authority may deal with such matters, powers and functions in a manner it thinks fit.
26. General power to amend or rectify.– The Authority may, at any time and on such terms as to costs or otherwise, as it may think fit, amend any defect or error in any proceedings before it, including any clerical or arithmetical error in any order passed by the Authority and all necessary amendments, rectifications shall be made for the purpose of determining the real question or issue arising in the proceedings:
Provided that, if the Authority desires to make amendments or rectifications in order to determine the real question or issue arising, the Authority shall provide an opportunity to the parties affected by such amendment or rectification touching the real question or issue to make representations and submissions with respect to the proposed amendment or rectification.
27. Extension or abridgement of time prescribed.- Subject to the provisions of the Act or rules made thereunder, the time prescribed under these regulations or by order of the Authority for doing any act may be extended, whether it has already expired or not, or abridged for sufficient reason, by an order of the Authority.
28. Costs.- (1) Subject to such condition and limitation as may be directed by the Authority, the costs of and incidental to, all proceedings shall be awarded at the discretion of the Authority and the Authority shall have power to determine by whom or out of what funds and to what extent such costs are to be paid and shall give all necessary directions for the aforesaid purposes.
(2) The costs shall be paid within thirty days from the date of the order or within such time as the Authority may, by order, direct. If a party fails to comply with an order for costs within the permitted period, the order of the Authority awarding costs shall be executed forthwith in the same manner as a decree or order of a civil court.
29. RERA Bank Account.- (1) General guidelines: The RERA Bank Account shall be a No Lien account and withdrawal from the account shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Act, rules and regulations made thereunder. The amount withdrawn from the RERA Bank Account shall be utilised for the purpose of completion of the same real estate project. However, there is no end use restriction on the amount which is withdrawn from the RERA Bank Account, in accordance with the provisions of the Act, rules and regulations made there under.
(2) Account opening: A RERA Bank Account shall be opened before applying for registration and maintained for each of the registered project of the promoter, in the local branch of a scheduled bank, where the project is going on. Details of the RERA Bank Account shall be submitted along with the project registration application. It shall be required to suffix the term “RERA Designated account for name of the project, real estate project” with the name of the account holder.
Illustration: if the name of the promoter is M/s ABC Ltd and the name of the project is XYZ, then the name of the account shall be “ABC-RERA Designated Account of XYZ”.
Each project shall have only one RERA Bank Account. In case of multiple promoters, necessary contractual or legal arrangements shall be made by the principal promoter, who shall register the project, to ensure proper operation of the account.
(3) Deposits: The promoter shall deposit seventy percent of the amount collected or realized from allottees (other than pass through charges and indirect taxes), in the RERA Bank Account. In case of project which is higher than the estimated value of sales revenue, hundred percent of the amount collected from the allottees (other than pass through charges and indirect taxes), shall be deposited in the RERA Bank Account. The money present in the RERA Bank Account may be kept in fixed deposit with the bank and such fixed deposit shall be No Lien Fixed Deposit and no loan shall be obtained against and no charge shall be created on such fixed deposit.
(4) Reporting: The promoter shall submit Form–4, Form–5 and Form–6 to the Authority for quarterly return filing compliance. The promoter shall get the accounts audited within six months after the end of every financial year by the statutory auditors of the promoter’s enterprises and shall submit a report on statement of accounts on project fund utilization and withdrawal by the promoter in Form–7. In case of a fixed deposit being made from the money in the RERA Bank Account, the chartered accountant shall verify that there is no lien or charge on such fixed deposit. The promoter and/or chartered accountant shall obtain the no lien or charge certificate in respect to such fixed deposit from the bank once in every three months and submit the same as part of quarterly compliance return. The promoter shall append copy of the RERA Bank Account pass book statement certified by chartered accountant to Form – 4, as part of the project quarterly return submission.
(5) Change of RERA Bank Account: The promoter may change the RERA Bank Account from one bank to another bank only with prior permission of the Authority. For RERA Bank Account change request, promoter shall submit through Authority’s web portal along with fee and documents in the following forms, namely:-
(i) application for change in RERA Bank Account in Form–B1(A);
(ii) copy of the Board resolution;
(iii) No objection certificate (NOC) from the existing Bank Account branch in Form–B2 along with account statement up to closing date;
(iv) proposed RERA Bank Account to be opened;
(v) reason for change of RERA Bank Account along with supporting documents;
(vi) fund transfer compliance letter in Form-B3, along with confirmation letter of RERA Bank Account closure in Form-B4; and
(vii) up to date compliance reports under sub-section (1) of section 11 of the Act.
(6) Power of the Authority: Upon revocation of the registration, the Authority may direct the bank holding the RERA Bank Account, to freeze or de-freeze the said account, to facilitate the remaining development works in accordance with the provisions of clause (c) of sub-section (4) of section 7 and section 8 of the Act. The Authority may, in the interest of the allottees, enquire into the payment of amount out of RERA Bank Account.
By Order and in the name of the Governor of Karnataka,
(HEMAVATHI)
Under Secretary to Government (RERA),
Housing Department.
Author is a practicing-chartered Accountant, partner at M/s.Venu & Vinay, he can be reachable at vinay@vnv.ca
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