The Builders Association of India (BAI) organised the inaugural function of second general council and managing committee meeting in Hyderabad. The meeting was inaugurated by KT Rama Rao, Minister for IT, MAUD, Industry & Commerce Public Enterprises, Mines & Geology, NRI Affairs, in the presence of G Jagadishwar Reddy, Minister for Energy and Development along with HN Vijaya Raghava Reddy, National President, BAI; B Seenaiah, Former National President, BAI; SN Reddy, National Vice President, BAI (South-1); N Sachitanand Reddy, All India Trustee, BAI; and B Sugunakar Rao, State Chairman, BAI Telangana; and the members and office bearers of BAI from across the country.

Speaking on the occasion, HN Vijaya Raghava Reddy, National President, BAI, said, ?This is a very critical time for the industry as there is a major push by the government in the state and Centre to push the infrastructure projects, opening a plethora of opportunities for the construction industry. This coincides with the introduction of GST. We need to be more systematic and process driven in our approach. This meeting will help us provide direction to the members to equip themselves and make the most of the activities in the construction arena.?

Speaking on the occasion, SN Reddy, National Vice President, BAI (South?I) said, ?The recently introduced GST is a major reform and the construction industry needs to understand the finer aspects of the new regime besides understanding the Input Tax Credit to the Sector. The meeting will aim at understanding and guiding members about the critical aspects of GST. We will also deliberate on the issues regarding GST which needs to be raised with the Finance Ministry to facilitate the construction industry. Some infrastructure projects that are currently under implementation, the proposed GST rates could raise costs, if there is insufficient built-in contingency factor and limited scope for contract renegotiation. For operational toll road projects, the impact would be only to the extent of operations and maintenance-related activities as the toll charges on road/bridge projects have been exempted, thereby providing some relief. We would also like to review the terms of the standard contract in view of the changes in the tax structure.?

Adding to this, B Sugunakar Rao, Chairman, BAI (Telangana State), said, ?We are glad to host the second managing committee, general council meeting in Hyderabad. We hope that the members will enjoy the hospitality extended by BAI Nalgonda centre. I would also like to thank the office bearers of BAI Telangana State for the initiative and meticulous planning for the meeting at Hyderabad. This is a challenging time for the construction sector as with the introduction of GST, the apparent GST rates are higher; however the sector is likely to benefit under GST regime from the availability of input tax credit (ITC). As under the current tax regime, the benefit of input tax paid is not fully available, the benefits arising out of input tax credit on the raw materials available under the GST regime would result in an overall neutral tax incidence for construction services, however we will truly ascertain the benefits over the next few months.