http://www.livemint.com/Politics/JNr1mw ... itech.htmlNew Delhi: The Supreme Court has stayed an order of the National Consumers’ Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) imposing a penalty on real estate developer Unitech Ltd for delay in handing over flats to the buyers.
The NCDRC, in an order of 8 June, imposed a 12% annual (simple) interest to be paid by Unitech to its flat buyers of its Sector 70, Gurgaon project called Vistas. The apex consumer forum said that this would “take care of the additional financial burden on them (the buyers)” and provide “some monetary compensation...on account of the delay in handing over possession of the flat purchased by them”.
A Supreme Court bench comprising justices J. Chelameswar and A.M. Sapre agreed to hear Unitech’s appeal against this order. The flat buyers, who are respondents before the apex court, have to respond within three weeks, the court said in its order on 17 August. Further, a stay on recovery of the compensation and certain other dues was imposed till the apex court hears the case.
The NCDRC, in its order, was critical of the terms of the apartment buyers’ agreement that realtors sign with their buyers. Noting that a builder charges an 18% compounded interest annually if the buyer delays in making payment, but only compensates 3% in case the builder does not give possession in time, the NCDRC says that “a term of this nature is wholly one-sided, unfair and unreasonable”.
In fact, a similar observation was made by antitrust regulator Competition Commission of India while dealing with the agreements between buyers and realtor DLF Ltd for certain Gurgaon projects. CCI had imposed a Rs630 crore penalty on DLF, and the case is currently pending before the apex court for its consideration. However, in that case, the apex court directed DLF to pay the entire penalty with the court registry.
Before NCDRC, Unitech had claimed that the multiple cases of the flat buyers were not of a high enough value to be heard by the national forum. Rather, they should have approached the state commission, Unitech had contended. NCDRC, however, did not agree with this contention.
The consumer forum also asked Unitech to pay the excess of the service tax payable by the buyers in view of the latest enhancement in the tax structure. Further, it directed Unitech to pay to the 24 complainants a sum of Rs5,000 each as litigation cost. It also ordered Unitech to comply with the dates by which it would deliver possession to the buyers (in its letter of 27 May). In case Unitech failed to do so, it would have to pay an additional 18% annually for each day of delay.