The Vivaad se Vishwas Tak scheme will be one area where some much-needed revenue can be collected by the government. The scheme can be more successful if some specific steps are taken, says investment advisor Harsh Roongta. This results in a very high tax demand. Investment advisor Harsh Roongta takes you through the maze of appeals and counter appeals.

No attention to detail seems to have been paid while introducing such a major provision and the wide arc of people it will take in its ambit, states Harsh Roongta.

'In most schemes, where the monthly investment is a fixed amount, investors run the risk of the price of gold rising during the tenure of the recurring deposit,' notes Harsh Roongta.

Chartered accountant and Sebi registered investment advisor, Harsh Vardhan Roongta, answers your home loan queries

It's possible to curb tax evasion using high-end technology. But it requires an honest intention to make use of the treasure trove of data that is captured, points out Harsh Roongta.

If, as promised, the refunds are done within 24 hours it will obviate one of the biggest reasons that taxpayers distrust the tax department -- delayed refunds especially in cases of large refunds.

Most borrowers may not be aware, but quite a few banks already offer external benchmark linked home loans to favoured borrowers, says Harsh Roongta.

Hospitals empanelled for Modicare may give preference to poor patients over the middle class for fear of strict government action, says Harsh Roongta.

Like the UPA government, probably the NDA government also feels that hardships caused to taxpayers are just collateral damage and that taxpayers are too few and even those few don't have a vote (non-individuals) or don't vote, says Harsh Roongta.

As long as the money has been 'paid or deposited in the previous year', an assessee should be eligible for tax relief, says Harsh Roongta.

The loss to policyholders due to massive mis-selling of insurance policies by trusted private sector and public sector banks will be well in excess of Rs 2 trillion, warns Harsh Roongta.

'The RBI can make a change in EMI the default option, when interest rates rise or fall, rather than a change in the loan tenure,' says Harsh Roongta.

An argument used for removal of this exemption is that it is used to launder black money and bring it in as clean tax paid money by manipulating the price of less liquid shares in the market, says Harsh Roongta.

'How is the scheme running despite running such massive deficits?' 'This is because the number of new members are much more than earlier members who are drawing pension.' 'If this was done by a private organisation, it would have been called a Ponzi scheme in which the contribution by new members is being used to pay off old members,' says Harsh Roongta.

The real estate sector is a major employment provider and the economy cannot afford its hard landing. Harsh Roongta suggests measures that can revive the under-construction market

Yet, no bank has been taken to task for its actions, says Harsh Roongta.

Provisions of RERA, subsidy under PMAY and relaxation in PF withdrawal to buy a house will aid affordable housing, points out Harsh Roongta.

Some of their tactics would put a snake oil salesman to shame, says Harsh Roongta.

It's such a well-kept secret that even well-heeled financial planners aren't aware of it, says Harsh Roongta.

Which is the best home loan? Advice from financial guru Harsh Roongta.

Do not game the system to run away from repaying the money you owe to the credit card company.

'The counting machine beeped, indicating a counterfeit note.' 'When the teller started tearing it, my nephew stopped him and asked him: Under whose authority was he destroying it, how did he know that the note was fake and if a genuine note gets destroyed, how will he be compensated?' Harsh Roongta explains the process if you have a counterfeit note.

Speculation is rife that the Centre can take draconian steps such as mandatory e-passbooks for all real estate holdings and compulsory checking of every single safe deposit vault.

'Many theories are doing the rounds on how to declare unaccounted income.'
'One of the more interesting ideas I have heard,' says Harsh Roongta, 'is that the tax payer can state that he found the currency notes in a bag on the street.'

After coming into effect, the Real Estate Regulation Act will ensure that developers are unable to take home buyers for a ride

Prompt refunds have been made for small amounts. For larger amounts, time has been sought till March 2018

A lot of people are hesitant to use this route because of the heavy turnover of these assistants.

Interest on NRE accounts is tax-free, but the I-T department creates hurdles to tax these accounts.

On maturity, 40 per cent of the accumulated corpus can be withdrawn tax-free.

Look at gold bonds or gold monetisation scheme instead of buying physical gold

The government has not done its homework or made any attempt to forge a consensus on this matter that affects millions of people in the organised sector, says Harsh Roongta.

Banks will introduce hybrid home loans with stiff penalty on prepayment and shifting.

The 40 per cent exemption benefit is applicable only for employees.

The government has become used to accounting for TDS as its income even though it knows a significant portion needs to be returned as refund

Section 54 provides a tax-free method to convert unaccounted money into accounted money, says Harsh Roongta.

If you are one among the millions of existing borrowers who are paying a higher interest rate compared to new borrowers of the same bank, make your shift now, before prepayment charges make it more expensive.

When you pay by cash, the pain is the highest and when you pay by credit card, the pain is reduced considerably.

When the bull run begins its march again, it will really be different!

The average rate of rupee depreciation vis--vis the dollar over the last 20 years is around 3.50 per cent per annum

Govt should take steps to monetise real estate investment schemes.