Mumbai: In a significant relief for real estate developers, the Bombay High Court’s Goa bench has ruled that no goods and services tax (GST) is payable on construction services under a joint development agreement (JDA) once the developer becomes the owner of the property through conveyance.

The ruling settles a long-standing dispute on the point of taxation in JDAs, where the revenue department had maintained that GST was payable at the time of entering into such agreements, while developers argued that liability could arise only upon transfer of the completed property. The judgement is expected to provide much-needed clarity for developers engaged in JDA-based projects, which remain a common model in land-constrained markets such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.

A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Nivedita P Mehta delivered the order on August 21. The case before the court involved Provident Housing that had challenged a tax demand raised on construction services linked to a JDA and sought refund of ₹7 crore it had deposited under protest.

According to legal experts, the decision will help streamline GST treatment in redevelopment deals.

“The ruling underscores the importance of aligning GST liability with actual transfer of property rights, reducing uncertainty for developers. It reinforces that JDAs cannot be taxed upfront if the developer eventually becomes the property owner, a position that could have wider impact across the real estate sector,” said Abhishek A Rastogi, founder, Rastogi Chambers.

According to him, the developer is currently expected to pay 18% GST for such arrangements with the landowners, and input tax credit may not be available in some categories, leading to tax cascading. The developer usually factors this cost into the end price to recover from the homebuyer, who eventually bears the burden.

With most land deals now structured as joint development, as landowners also prefer revenue sharing, this will increasingly impact project costs and pricing dynamics. Experts believe this could weigh on affordability in markets that are already seeing elevated property prices.

The revenue department had initially insisted that GST was applicable on the date of signing the JDA, citing provisions of the CGST Act and related notifications. However, during the proceedings, the department admitted through an affidavit that liability would arise only upon transfer of possession or rights in the completed property. The court noted that after execution of the JDA, the landowner sold the entire parcel to Provident Housing through a registered conveyance, thereby extinguishing all claims under the original agreement by mutual consent. With the developer acquiring ownership of the property, the bench observed, no GST liability could arise on account of the earlier JDA.

The ruling is likely to influence similar disputes pending before various tribunals and courts, as joint development agreements remain a preferred structure for unlocking land parcels across India.

Developers often enter such partnerships with landowners to mitigate upfront capital requirements and share project risk.