VAT refund after cancelling apartment booking

[Prateek Kumar]

Hello,I have planned to purchase an apartment in bangalore and paid the builder the booking amount and EDM 15% Earnest Deposit Money.After 6 months the builder sent me sale and construction agreement and it was not satisfactory and I decided to cancel my booking. Now the issue is they are claiming that the actual money paid to them will be refunded but the VAT cannot be refunded. I request someone to help me with some information on this. No sale happened here and I am wondering why this cannot be refunded?

[praveen m r]

They should be able to refund the VAT amount also to you, unless you have signed an agreement with them which mentioned VAT will not be refunded to you. VAT computation for a builder is quite complicated in Karnataka. You might take an expert opinion before discussing with the builder. Opinions on such matters are available from different experts and will range between 10k to 20 K

[Prateek Kumar]

Thanks for the reply. Could you please help me out to find a VAT expert in bangalore who can help me to get refund ?

AI Summary

VAT refund entitlement on cancelled apartment bookings depends on agreement clauses and specialised tax analysis. A purchaser who paid a booking amount and an earnest deposit and then cancelled the apartment booking is asserting entitlement to refund; the builder refuses to refund VAT. Advice in the forum states VAT should be refundable unless an agreement expressly disclaims refundability, and that VAT computation for builders is complex, so specialised tax opinion should be sought.