August 2024 - Ved Legal

Laws Applicable to Co-Operative Society

The Cooperative Societies Act, 1912 expanded the sphere of cooperation between its members and provided for supervision by central organization. A cooperative society, which has its object the promotion of the economic interests of its members in accordance with the co-operative principles, may be registered with limited or unlimited liability by filing application to the registering authority with requisite documents to be submitted by them

A Co-operative Society has to conduct itself as per the following listed below:

Co-operative Societies Act under which the same is registered whether it be under state Act or Central Act.
Co-operative Societies rules made there under whether it be central or state rules
Bye-laws approved by the registrar at the time of registration and amendments made from time to time and approved by the registrar, these bye-laws have to be formed by the concerned members themselves and present it to the registration authority for its approval.
Notification and Orders by the concerned Government

The following steps have to be followed while forming a Co-operative society, they are

Step 1: Ten Individuals together who are desirous of forming a Society

To form a society, law mandates that 10 members minimum must show intention to be part of the society having same aim and objective to be achieved through the society for their mutual benefit and thereby be desirous to be part of it.

Step 2: Provisional Committee to select Chief Promoter

Once a group of individuals have a desire to form a society the next step should be there must be a provisional committee of which everyone is part of and all of them should by mutual consent or by majority whichever their prefer must choose a person who will be a chief promoter of the society which is going to be formed by them.

Step 3: A Name for the Society has to be selected

Thereafter once a chief promoter is selected by set of individuals among them, they have to select a name for the co-operative society which they wish to form

Step 4: Application has to be made to the Registration Authority

Once the name of the society is selected by the members then they have to make a application to the registration authority stating that they have a intention to form a society and the name of the society has to be given to the authority for its approval and registering authority has to confirm that name is in conformity with laws and issue a confirmation certificate to the members. Then when the members get their name approval from the authority it is valid for 3 months from the date of approval.

Step 5: entrance fees and share capital

Thereafter once name approval comes from the concerned authority, the entrance fee and the share capital must be collected from the concerned prospective members to meet the statutory requirements under law and it can be prescribed by the members themselves or society act mandates certain fees to be paid by them.

Step 6: Bank Account

Thereafter once the prescribed fee and share capital is collect from the prospective members, then as per the directions of the registering authority promoter has to open a bank account in the name of the society and deposit the said fees and share capital in that account and a certificate has to be obtained from the bank to that effect

Step 7: Application for registration

Once the bank formalities are completed then the promoter has to apply for the society formation to the registration authority and it has to be accompanied with set of documents, they are

Form No. A in quadruplicate signed by 90% of the promoter members
1. List of promoter members
2. Bank Certificate
3. Detailed explanation of working of the society.
4. Four copies of proposed bye-laws of the society.
5. Proof of payment of registration charges.
6. Other documents such as affidavits, indemnity bonds, any documents specified by the Registrar also have to be submitted.

All these documents have to be submitted at the time of applying for registration of the society to the registering authority and the authority after it is satisfied with the documents submitted to it has to apply its mind to whether or not to register the said society.

Step 8: Registrar has to acknowledge

After the submission of the said documents has mentioned in step 7, the registrar of that municipal ward has to enter the particulars in the book called the “register of Application” which is generally specified in form B and give it a serial number to the application. Thereafter the registrar has to issue a receipt to that effect and give it to prospective members to know the status of the application when it is pending.

Then the registrar after perusal of the records submitted to him/her has to make a decision whether has to issue a certificate of registration or not and if there are any discrepancies noticed then he/she has to inform the members of the same and get it rectified if any.

Step 9: Registration

Last step is that the registering authority after being satisfied with the documents meeting the legal requirements will notify the registration of the society in the official gazette mentioned by the state or central government and should issue the registration certificate of the society and give it to the members of the society.

Conclusion

In India, Co-operative Societies were regarded as ideal instruments to motivate the people to come together and help themselves in the process of eliminating the unscrupulous middlemen making a huge profit at the expense of the society.

The main guiding factor if an individual or group of individuals want to form a society must be whether all the concerned members have common goal to achieve or not, it is important factor because only when they share common desire or intention then only society is desirable otherwise the whole purpose of forming a society will be defeated.

Societies like any other business structure come with certain advantages and disadvantages, they are:

Advantages

Cooperative stores supply quality goods unlike other shops wherein adulterated foods maybe given to its consumers and thus saved them from adulteration and other malpractices.
As consumers or members of the society are the owners and managers of such stores, genuine requirements of the majority of consumers can be met. In other words, goods required by a majority of the customers or members of the society are always dealt by such stores.
Cooperative societies are an important form of democratic business enterprise because ownership is not vested in one person completely so as a result, no single group can secure control over the organization.

Disadvantages

It only caters to the needs of small and medium-income groups so when there are large group with higher economic interest then it is preferable to choose another business model.
There is much dependence on the honesty, integrity and loyalty of members and workers and once there are trust issues between the members it is hard to transact business thereafter.
It is limited to certain objectives hence profits are minimal.
Management of society usually rests in the hands of people with less managerial experience due to which society will suffer and many do not invest in hiring professionals to handle the society due to lack of funds or interest so henceforth growth of the society maybe put to stake by its own members.

By admin|August 6th, 2024|Laws Applicable to Co-Operative Society|Comments Off

HANDOVER PROCESS WITH THE HELP OF BUILDER

HANDOVER PROCESS WITH THE HELP OF BUILDER

The date of handover from builder to the registered owners association is an important day for new apartment owners and all residents. It has to be taken seriously and detailed due diligence must be done when interacting with the builders during this handover process. Once the formal handover to the Owners Association is completed, the onus is on the association to run the affairs of the society and to ensure its smooth functioning. The association must be prepared for this day for 3+ months leading to this event.

It is recommended that owners collaboratively engage with the builder right from late construction stages that will help them to take-up this responsibility in future. The builders can also reach out to representatives from the owners group to assist in the selection of maintenance agency which prepares them for the handover process.

Based on our experience in interacting with various builders and associations, we have collated a check list that associations can use when in dialogue with the builder on the handover process:

1. Get approved building plan which includes block-wise and floor-wise details

2. Collect the Completion Certificate which ensures adherence of the approved plan

3. No Objection certificates from pollution, fire, water and electricity authorities

4. Hard copy and soft copy (in CD) of all approved engineering drawings; look for approval seal on the drawings

5. Registration and parent documents

6. Drainage, sewage, Fire protection and common area power layout drawings

7. Car parking layout drawings (with numbering)

8. Asset Inventory of all movable and immovable equipment purchased; numbered in order (list needs to be exhaustive)

9. Record of recent service history on key equipment’s like lifts, DG sets, STP and WTP

10. AMC and warranty details; Original bills of equipment purchased (motors, Sewage and Water Treatment Plant, Generators, Gym items like treadmill)

11. Lift license details and next renewal date

12. STP/WTP vendor details, plant layout, operation manual and drawings

13. Receipts of property, electricity and water payments paid

14. Handover of corpus amount to the association

15. Share recent expenses incurred on various maintenance activities and account heads; will assist to budget coming year (staff salaries, purchase of cleaning material, swimming pool maintenance etc)

16.Contract signed with maintenance agency; agreed SLAs

17. Insurance taken for assets and third party lift insurance

18. Audited account statement at the time of handover

19. Arrange for introductory meeting with important suppliers and vendors

By admin|August 6th, 2024|HANDOVER PROCESS FROM BUILDER TO NEW APARTMENT/SOCIETY OWNERS|Comments Off

REGISTRATION OF CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETIES IN PUNE

REGISTRATION OF CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETIES IN PUNE

According to the Law, every Builder / Developer has to form a Housing Co-operative Society with limited options available in this regard to managing the affairs of the building i.e.

(a) Condominium

(b) Private Limited Company and

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to state that in at least 90% the Promoters and / or the Builders have formed a Housing Co-operative Society.

The basic requirements for a Co-operative Housing Society Registration normally are unknown to the flat/unit purchasers. It is the statutory obligation cast upon the builder, where the builder acts as a friend, philosopher, and guide of the promoters and helps them in forming a Co- operative Housing Society.

There are four types of Housing Co-operative Societies

(a) Open Plot type Societies [Tenant ownership]

(b) Flat Owners Societies [Tenant Co-partnership]

(d) Housing Board Societies.

The procedure for <strong>Co-operative Housing Society Registration</strong> begins with electing a Chief Promoter in a meeting of the Promoters. The builder under the Flat Owners type of co-operative society has the first right to act as the chief promoter. The developer / flat purchasers should call for a meeting of the Promoters by issuing the notice under Agenda of the meeting given at least 14 days notice to the Promoters. In this meeting, a Chief Promoter is elected who can exercise such powers and carry out such functions as are mentioned in the minutes of the Promoters of the proposed Co-operative Society. After electing the Chief Promoter, the proposed name of the society has to be decided by the Promoters. Normally, the name reservation proposal should be accompanied by the signature of at least 10 Promoters who have attended the meeting. It is a common belief that the Society should consist of at least 10 members. If the number is less than 10 then special permission from Government has to be taken. In such cases, the garages/car parking may be allotted to other relatives of the promoter to reach a number of 10.

It would be of interest to note that the model bye-laws define flat as a Flat means a separate set and self-contained set of premises used or intended to be used or intended to be used for residence, or office or showroom, or shop, or godown and includes a garage, or dispensary, or consulting room, or clinic, or flour mill, the premises forming part of a building and includes an apartment. On allotment of name and permission to open a bank account by the Registrar, the Chief Promoter has to collect Share Capital, Entrance Fees from promoters and deposit the same in the branch of the bank permitted by the Registrar. It should be noted that the amount cannot be withdrawn from the Bank till the Society is Registered or its Registration is refused, except with prior written permission of the Registrar. The Chief Promoter should submit Registration Proposal to the Registering Authority within a period of 3 months from the date of issue of Letter of Reservation in the name of the proposed Society.

The documents that need to be submitted to the Registering Authorities for Housing Co-operative Society Registration are as under:

1. Application for registration of Housing Co-operative Society in Form A along with Statement A. Enclosure to application for Registration as per Rule 4(1) of Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Rules, 1961.

2. Information about proposed Housing Co-operative Society in Statement ‘B’ (vide Govt. Circular dated 2-5-1980).

3. Information about promoter members of the proposed Housing Co-operative Society in Statement ‘C’ (vide Govt. Circular dt. 2-5-1980).

4. A Statement of Accounts as per Form D.

5. Model Bye-laws.

6. Bank Balance Certificate.

7. S.B.I. / Treasury Challan for payment of Registration Fee of Rs. 2500

8. Title Clearance Certificate from an Advocate

9. A true copy of the approved Building Plan.

10. Letter of Authority Granting permission to commence construction work/Completion Certificate (if applicable).

11. Affidavit on Rs. 100/- Stamp Paper from at least 10 promoter members to the effect that they are residing in the area of operation of the Society (Proposed), made before a Competent Authority.

12. An affidavit from the Chief Promoter on Stamp Paper of Rs. 100/- executed before the Competent Authority in form ‘Y’.

13. Certified True Copy of an agreement made on Stamp paper and registered between the builder, promoter and purchasers of flat.

14. Where the promoter members are firms/ companies, a letter of authority from such firms/companies authorizing the promoter to sign on behalf of firm / company. 15. In the case of such proposed societies, names of 60% of the flat holders of the total number of flats constructed or proposed to be constructed as per the plan approved, must be included in Statement ‘A’ to be attached to the Registration Proposal. It is the duty of the Registrar to register the society and on registration of the society; it becomes a separate legal entity. Thereafter, the management of the affairs of the society is carried out by the managing committee which is elected by the general body meeting of the society. It may be of interest to note that in a co-operative society the principle is one member one vote. In a co-operative society, the right to be exercised in the general body meeting is a personal right. This is one of the reasons why even a person holding a power of attorney cannot attend the general body meeting of the society. The quantum of the capital being introduced by the member is not of much importance. Preference should be given to the formation of a private limited company if one member proposes to acquire the majority of flats in the building.

By admin|August 6th, 2024|REGISTRATION OF A NEW HOUSING SOCIETY IN PUNE|Comments Off

ADVOCATES FOR REGISTRATION OF HOUSING SOCIETY

ADVOCATES FOR REGISTRATION OF HOUSING SOCIETY:

A co-operative society is the perfect fit for a residential building as flat-owners have common needs (water connection, watchmen, etc) and interests (maintenance of common areas, such as the terrace and compound). If you’ve purchased a flat in a new building, it would probably be best if you took interest in forming a society. The builder may also be statutorily obligated to form a society. For example, under Maharashtra Ownership Flat Act, 1963, a builder must form a society within four months of selling 60% of the flats.

But you needn’t wait for the builder to form the society. In many states, including Delhi and Maharashtra, ten flat-owners are enough to promote a co-operative housing society. A building without a housing society usually indicates that there is a dispute between members or a general lack of interest. If you’re considering buying a house in a building where the society has not been formed, find out what the problem is. If the builder does not form a society, rights to the terrace and the compound continue to rest with him.

We, the “VED LEGAL” provide registration and formation services which help you at every step of society formation, right from inception to final handover. We look after all the legal complications involved in society formation and carry out necessary negotiations with developers.

We have also completed the registration process for various projects. We specialize in society formation of housing societies, commercial societies, maintenance societies and large townships. We help developers and societies with complex registration process during society mergers, society split, and federation registrations.

Our specialized services include:

Initial screening
Gap identification and ratification
Process documentation and finalization
Dispute resolution
Society name reservation at respective co-operative departments

Account formation and legal documentation

By admin|August 6th, 2024|ADVOCATES FOR REGISTRATION OF HOUSING SOCIETY|Comments Off

REQUIRE DOCUMENTS FOR DEEMED CONVEYANCE

LIST OF REQUIRE DOCUMENTS FOR DEEMED CONVEYANCE:-

Stamp duty proof Index-II/Agreements
Layout plan (Blue Prints of all plans)
Completion Certificate
Commencement Certificate
N.A. Order
Latest 7/12 Extract/Property Card
Development Agreement & Power of Attorney
Society’s GB Resolution for Deemed Conveyance/Conveyance Deed
Notice to Builder for Conveyance Deed
Society Registration Certificate
Search Title Report

Sample Agreement Between Builder & Flat Purchaser

By admin|August 6th, 2024|REQUIRE DOCUMENTS FOR DEEMED CONVEYANCE|Comments Off

REGISTRATION OF DEEMED CONVEYANCE

On receipt of the Deemed Conveyance Order, the Deemed Conveyance between the Competent Authority & the Society is prepared. The Competent Authority appears in the Deed on behalf of the defaulting Land Owners & Property Developers.

The Deemed Conveyance is submitted to the Office of Competent Authority for Approval & their Signature with Authority Stamp & Seal.

The Special General Body of the Society is called to approve the Deemed Conveyance & to nominate 3 Members of the Society to sign the instruments.

The Deemed Conveyance is executed by the signature of the Competent Authority & the signatures of the 3 nominated Members of the Society.

On execution of the Deemed Conveyance, it is forwarded to the District Stamp Office for Adjudication. If all the Members of the Society have paid the Stamp Duty on their respective Flat/ Shop Agreements & there is no balance FSI, the Deemed Conveyance attracts only Rs. 100/- Stamp Duty. The Stamp Office issues the Adjudication Certificate.

On receipt of the Adjudication Certificate, the Society pays the required Stamp Duty & gets the Deemed Conveyance Franked from local Bank.

After Franking of the Deemed Conveyance, the same is submitted to the Registration Office for Registration. The Registration Office issues a notice to the Land Owners & Property Developers to verify whether they have received any Stay Order from Proper Court against the Deemed Conveyance Order.

The Proper Court for issuing the Stay Order against the Deemed Conveyance Order is High Court. It is very difficult for the Land Owners & Property Developers to obtain the Stay Order from High Court against the Deemed Conveyance Order.

If there is no Stay Order received, the Registration Office Registers the Deemed Conveyance. The Competent Authority is exempted from appearing for the Registration & hence the 3 Members nominated by the Society only appear for Registration.

After Registration of the Deemed Conveyance, the Registration Office issues the Scanned Document & Index II typically within 15 days.

The complete Procedure of Registration of Deemed Conveyance is typically completed within 3- 4 Months. On receipt of the Index II, the Registration Process of the Deemed Conveyance is successfully completed & the Society becomes the owner of the Land & Structure.

By admin|August 6th, 2024|Registration of Deemed Conveyance|Comments Off

PROVISIONS FOR DEEMED CONVEYANCE UNDER MOFA

PROVISIONS FOR DEEMED CONVEYANCE UNDER MOFA

Amendments in Maharashtra Ownership Flats (Regulation of the promotion of construction, sale, management and transfer) Act, 2005 giving a huge relief to hundreds and thousands of flats purchasers in Maharashtra. Conveyance to the societies was a burning issues which have integrated many problems like property tax, housing finance documentations and major repairs or redevelopment.

The highlights of the amendments are as under:

Builder/s will have to execute the conveyance.
Power is given to the District Deputy Registrar to act as Competent Authority. (Sec. 5A)
Power is given to Competent Authority for registration of Co-operative Society under the provisions of Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960. (Sec. 10(1) )
It is the duty of the promoter (builder) to file with the Competent Authority within the prescribed period a copy of the conveyance executed by him (Sec. 11(2))
If the promoter fails to execute the conveyance in favour of Co-operative Society, Company or Associations or Apartment Owners as the case may be, then the flat purchasers can approach the Competent Authority with true copy of registered agreement of all the flat purchasers including Occupation Certificate, Registration Certificate of the society then in such circumstances the Co-operative Society, Company or Associations is entitled to have unilateral deemed conveyance (Sec. 11(3))
The proceedings before the Competent Authority have to be completed within a period of 6 months. The Competent Authority must verify the authenticity of the document produced before him and after giving a reasonable opportunity to the promoter, if satisfied will issue a certificate to the Sub-Registrar or any other Registration Officer under the Registration Act, 1908, certifying that it is a fit case for enforcing unilateral execution of conveyance deed conveying the right, title and interest of the promoter in the land and the building in favour of the applicant, as deemed conveyance(Sec. 11(4))
The sub registrar after receipt of the certificate issued by the Competent Authority along with the unilateral instrument of conveyance can issue summons to the promoter to show cause why the unilateral instrument should not be registered as deemed conveyance. However, reasonable opportunity of being heard may be given to the promoter. If the Sub-Registrar is satisfied then he will register the unilateral conveyance as ‘deemed conveyance’. (Sec. 11(5))
The Competent Authority has been created who has powers to award criminal imprisonment to the builder/s for a period not less than 6 months and not more than 1 year and / or along with fine ranging from Rs 10,000/- to 50,000/- (Sec. 13(3)(a) & 13(3)(b))
The builder/s if convicted will not be able to carry on construction activities for a period of five years. However, the disqualification shall not affect the permission for construction of flats already granted. (Sec. 13 (4), 13(5) & 13(6) )
The Competent Authority shall be deemed to be a public servant as per the provisions of Indian Penal Code. (Sec. (13B)
Proceedings before Competent Authority shall be aimed to be judicial proceedings as per the provisions of Indian Penal Code. (Sec. 13C)
Competent Authority shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for certain purposes. (Sec. 13D)

No action can be taken against the Competent Authority for acts done in good faith by the Competent Authority. (Sec. 13E)

By admin|August 6th, 2024|PROVISIONS FOR DEEMED CONVEYANCE UNDER MOFA|Comments Off

What is Deemed Conveyance?

What is Deemed Conveyance?

The Promoter (Builder/ Developer) is legally required to convey the land and the building within 4 months of formation to the society or any legal body of the flat purchasers. However, it has been the experience that many promoters (Builders/Developers) have not conveyed the land and building to the legal bodies. Therefore, government has amended the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act, 1963 (MOFA) and provided for the deemed conveyance in favor of the legal bodies. Under the provision, deemed conveyance means after the expiry of 4 months of formation of the legal body, the land and building is deemed to have been conveyed to the legal body and to bring the same in the revenue record, Competent Authority has been designated who will hear the parties on the basis of applications received from the aggrieved party and transfers the title in favor of the legal body by passing the necessary order and deemed conveyance certificate and appoint an authorized officer to execute the conveyance deed in favor of the society and execute on behalf of non-co-operative builder or the land owner. Getting the title of land and building by adopting the above procedure is known as deemed conveyance.

By admin|August 6th, 2024|What is Deemed Conveyance?|Comments Off