'No cess, no building number'; Onam housewarming plans ruined for Keralites

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: People who were in high hopes of moving into their new homes this month suffered a setback when approached for building number. 12260 files are now stuck in the office after it was made mandatory for applicants to pay cess to the Construction Workers Welfare Fund Board for building number.

If the cost for construction is Rs 25 lakh, then Rs 25,000 should be paid as cess. As per the rules, the building number should be given within 15 days after the construction is completed and cess is not mandatory.

The decision to collect cess is to complete pensions to the members of the Kerala Construction Workers Welfare Fund Board. After the central law of 1996, it came into force in the state in 1998. Hitherto, most people were not willing to pay cess since it was not mandatory.

With the Board's work in crisis, the cess collection was taken over by the local self-government. Local Government Department in April 2024 amended rules and made cess mandatory for obtaining building numbers.

The labour department is also issuing notices to collect the cess from houses that completed construction before April.

1. On February 14, the government introduced the new norm of issuing the number only after paying the cess. This led to a change in the software. Only after entering the cess payment receipt number will the engineering department proceed to the file numbering stage.
2. Cess applies to houses with an area of ​​more than 1000 square feet or an estimate of more than Rs.10 lakhs.
3. It is the contractor's liability to pay the cess, but it is not followed and it ends up as the worry of the house owner to complete all payments.

There is a strong demand that the cess payment should be made in instalments similar to the one-time tax payment in the revenue department. Once you get the occupancy and completion plan from the local bodies, you can scan it and apply online for a one-time tax payment. If you sign the affidavit and give it to the local authority, you will get the building number. After that, you just have to pay the tax in four instalments.