ACTIONABLE CLAIM

Advocate Selvakumar | property advocates in Bangalore | advocates in Bangalore

Actionable claim is defined in Section 3 of the Transfer of Property Act as a ‘claim to any debt other than a debt secured by mortgage of immovable property or by hypothecation or pledge of moveable property or to any beneficial interest in the moveable property not in the possession, either actual or constructive of the claimant which the civil courts recognize as affording grounds for relief, whether such debt, or beneficial interest be existent, accruing, conditional or contingent.

Accordingly, this mean, it excludes not only a claim to any immovable property for a debt but also a debt secured or any moveable property in possession of the claimant. It follows, therefore that it is a claim for a simple debt or liability and which can be realized by a legal action.  

An actionable claim is called, in English Law, a chose in action or a thing in action as against a chose or money in possession. It denotes incorporeal personal property of all disciplines and an interest in corporeal personal property not in possession of the owner which accordingly can only be claimed or enforced in action. Therefore, while the different types of moveable property governed by the Sale of Goods Act can be called as chose in possession, an actionable claim is also a type of moveable property called chose in action.  It is also a moveable property because a debt is a property and anything which is not immoveable property is moveable property.

Actionable claim as defined in Section 3 of the Transfer of Property Act, as a chose in action is different from two other such chooses in action namely the right or property by way of copyright, trade-mark, patent, or design, and also to stocks and shares or debentures of a limited Company or the negotiable instruments under the Negotiable Instruments Act, which also evidence a debt and which are recoverable by legal action.

Section 137 of the Transfer of Property Act clearly provides that sections 130 to 136 will not apply to stocks and shares or debentures or to instruments which are negotiable or to mercantile documents of title to goods.  Marine Insurance claim is also excluded by Section 135 A of that Act and is dealt with in the Marine Insurance Act, XI of 1933. They are also governed by independent separate statutes passed in respect thereof and are not, therefore, governed by the Transfer of Property Act.  That Act in Section 130 only provides for transfer of actionable claims as defined and circumscribed by the Transfer of Property Act. As to transfer of the earlier mentioned actionable claims separate provisions are made for transfer thereof by the statutes governing them.

Actionable claims within the meaning of Section 3 of the Transfer of Property Act, therefore, cover (i) claims to unsecured debts and (ii) claims to beneficial interest in moveable property not in possession actual or constructive whether present or future., conditional or contingent. Such actionable claims could be (a) a right to claim maintenance (b) a right to arrears of rent (c) a right to annuities (d) moneys payable under a contract for price or advance (e) a right to claim benefit of a contract (f) a partner’s claim for accounts and his share therein (g) insurance claim, other than marine insurance (h) salary in arrears (i) book debts (j) a fixed deposit receipt, etc.  However, a mere right to sue is not assignable.  Similarly, a decree is not assignable under this section, as no legal action is required to be taken to recover the claim.  The decree itself can be executed. Similarly any other property which is not transferable, under Section 6 of the Transfer of Property Act is not assignable under Section 130 of the Transfer of Property Act. Marine Insurance Policy, negotiable instrument and documents of title to goods are specifically excluded by Section 135 A and Section 137 of the Transfer of Property Act as stated above.

Assignment:

Every actionable claim or chose in action is assignable except in four cases:

(1)  where the assignment is prohibited by law,

(2) where the terms of the contract under which the claim accrues prohibit such assignment,

(3)  where the contract is of a personal nature, and

(4)  where the assignment would increase the burden on the other party.

An actionable claim can be recovered by a legal action by the person who is the claimant or creditor. Section 130 of the Transfer of Property Act provides that a transfer of an actionable claim shall be effected by execution of an instrument in writing, signed by the transferor or his duly authorized agent in favour of the transferee and in that case all the rights and remedies of the transferor, whether by way of damages or otherwise shall vest in the transferee, whether notice of such transfer is given to the debtor or not. But when no such notice of transfer is given to the debtor and the debtor in ignorance of such transfer repays the debt or claim to the original creditor or claimant, he would be discharged from the liability.  On such transfer the Transferee would get all the rights of the creditor including the right independently to recover the debt without the original claimant’s consent or co-operation.  The deed of transfer need not be signed by the transferee and also does not require attestation or registration.

The written instrument assigning a debt can be in any form, if the intention to transfer is clear. A mere letter to the assignee by the claimant that he has assigned the debt to him is sufficient.

An assignment of a debt may be absolute or by way of security or even as a gift. The words with or without consideration in the definition of actionable claims are used to cover even a gift.

An assignment becomes effective from the date of writing, unlike English Law under which it becomes effective from the date of notice to the debtor.

The provision in the Transfer of Property Act regarding assignment of actionable claim does not apply to claims under Marine Insurance Policy or Fire Insurance Policy or affect any provisions of the Insurance Aft, 1938.

Section 134 of the Transfer of Property Act also shows that assignment of the actionable claim by way of charge is also possible to secure the debt due by the transferor to the transferee and provides how the debt assigned when recovered is to be applied viz., first in payment of costs of recovery, secondly, in satisfaction of the amount secured and thirdly, in payment of the balance if any to the transferor or other person entitled thereto.  Section 136 if the Transfer of Property Act above quoted does not apply to assignment by a charge or security, though such assignment is also recognized in English Law as equitable assignment.

An actionable claim would include

(a)     any debt due to or moneys recoverable by the transferor (except the moneys payable under a negotiable instrument)

(b)     any moveable property belonging to the transferor and not in his possession or power and which he has a right to recover or receive and

©       any claim or benefit under a contract belonging to the transferor but without any liability attached thereto.

An Assignment can be made either by a formal document or even by a letter to the debtor of the transferor but not orally.  An irrevocable Power of Attorney to recover a debt and to adjust it towards the amount due to the done is held as an assignment. An actionable claim can be assigned even as a gift that is without consideration as Section 130 of the Transfer of Property Act in terms so provides.

Apart from what is stated above, the following are held to be actionable claims:

     (1)a debt due or to become due, or whether conditional or contingent

     (2)  future rents

     (3)  amounts payable under a deed

     (4)  amount due under a policy of life insurance

     (5)  a letter of credit

     (6)  right under a contract

     (7)  beneficial interest in moveable property

     (8)  confirmed sale price

     (9)  earnest money becoming repayable

   (10)  deposit receipt

   (11)  dividend due on shares, etc.

But a mere right to sue or claim for damages or mesne profits are not assignable.As regards transfer of shares, stock and debentures, the provision in respect thereof is made in the Companies Act.

As regards actionable claims in the nature of negotiable instruments, the Negotiable Instruments Act, makes special provision for the transfer thereof by endorsement. It may however be stated that a promissory note whether negotiable or not or other such instruments can be transferred by a separate instrument of transfer instead of by mere endorsement.

An assignment of an actionable claim is not required to be registered under the Registration Act.It is desirable that the document of assignment is executed both by the Assignor and the Assignee and in duplicate, one copy remaining with the Assignor and other with the Assignee.        

The Income Tax Ombudsman Guidelines 2010

Advocate Selvakumar | property advocates in Bangalore | advocates in Bangalore

The Income tax Ombudsman Guidelines are introdu.ced with the objective of enabling the resolution of complaints relating to public grievances against the Income Tax Department and to facilitate settlement of such complaints.

The Ombudsman shall be independent of the jurisdiction of the Income Tax Department. The offices of Income Tax Ombudsman shall initially be located at New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Lucknow, Bhopal and Kochi.

GROUNDS ON WHICH COMPLAINT CAN BE FILED:-

A complaint on anyone or more of the following grounds alleging deficiency in the working of the Income-tax Department may be filed with the Ombudsman:

(a) delay in issue of refunds beyond time limits prescribed by law or under the relevant instructions issued from time to time by the Central Board of Direct Taxes;

(b) sending of envelopes without refund vouchers in cases of refund;

(c) non adherence to the principle of 'First Come First Served' in sending refunds;

(d) non acknowledgement of letters or documents sent to the department;

(e) non up-dating of demand and other registers au leading to harassment of assesses;

(f) lack of transparency in identifying cases for scrutiny and non communication of reasons for selecting COl the case for scrutiny;

(g) delay in disposing cases of interest waiver;

(h) delay in disposal of rectification applications;

(i) delay in giving effect to the appellate orders;

(j) Delay in release of seized books of account and assets, after the proceedings under the Income-tax Act in respect of the years for which the books of account or other documents are relevant are completed;

(k) Delay in allotment of permanent account number (PAN);

(l) Non credit of tax paid, including tax deducted at take! source;

(m) Non adherence to prescribed working hours Income Tax officials;

(n) Unwarranted rude behavior of Income Tax officials with assesses;

(0) any other matter relating to violation of the administrative instructions and circulars issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes in relation to Income-tax administration.

PROCEDURE FOR FILING THE COMPLAINT

Any person, who has a grievance against the Income-tax Department, may, himself or through his registers authorized representative, make a complaint against the Income-tax official in writing to the Ombudsman.

(a) The complaint shall be duly signed by the complainant and his authorized representative, if any, and shall state clearly the name and address of the complainant, the name of the office and official of the Income-tax Department against whom the complaint is made, the facts giving rise to the complaint supported by documents, if any, relied on by the complainant and the relief sought from the Ombudsman;

 (b) A complaint made through electronic means shall also be accepted by the Ombudsman and a print out of such complaint shall be taken on the record of the Ombudsman.

(c) A print out of the complaint made through electronic means shall be signed by the complainant at the earliest possible opportunity before the Ombudsman takes steps for conciliation or settlement.

(d) The signed printout shall be deemed to be the complaint and it shall relate back to the date on which the complaint was made through electronic means.

No complaint to the Ombudsman shall be kept pending unless:-

(a) the complainant had, before making a complaint to the Ombudsman, made a written representation to the Income Tax authority superior to the one complained against and either such authority had rejected the complaint or the complainant had not received any reply within a period of one month after such authority had received his representation or the complainant is not satisfied with the reply given to him by such authority;

(b) the complaint is made not later than one year after the complainant has received the reply of the department to his representation or, in case, where no reply is received, not later than one year and one month after the representation to the Income Tax Authority.

(c) the complaint is not in respect of the same subject matter which was settled through the Office of the Ombudsman in any previous proceedings whether or not received from the same complainant or along with anyone or more complainants or anyone or more of the parties concerned with the subject matter;

(d) the complaint is not frivolous or vexatious in nature.

No complaint shall be made to the Income-tax Ombudsman on an issue which has been or is the subject matter of any proceeding in an appeal, revision, reference or writ before any Income-tax Authority or Appellate Authority or Tribunal or Court.

IT IS NOT INTEREST RATES REDUCTION; IT IS UNDER CUTTING FOR HOUSING FINANCIERS

IT IS NOT INTEREST RATES REDUCTION; IT IS UNDER CUTTING FOR HOUSING FINANCIERS

On the pretext of reducing the interest rates on home loans, Teaser Rates are back.  Housing Financiers follow their own Prime Lending Rates (PLR) and for this, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has already released the Banks from following the PLR. The RBI announces PLR just as an indicative level only. Hence, every Bank has its own PLR. According to Union Budge proposals, the interest rates on home comes under the priority sector upto Rs.25 lakhs, for which the Government gives subsidy of 1% through National Hosing Bank refinancing schemes. For this, the Government had given funds to National housing Bank and allowed it to raise funds through Capital Gain Tax exemption bonds.

Now, under these circumstances, the Act of Banks in reducing the rates is sheer market forces pressures and nothing to do with the RBI policies and various credit rates by which the RBI controls the inflation and other currency related issues. DSA’s and Agents of Banks are now cutting under each other’s Clients because, Real Estate Industry is going through its worst phase and nothing is moving. Volumes have declined and New Clients are not entering into it.

To survive in the Housing Finance Market, the Players are now under-cutting in the name of Teaser Rates. The new reduced rates are not for existing Clients. Under floating rate options, the Borrower must get the advantage of reducing the interest rate but unfortunately, these reduced rates are not for existing Customers of the Banks, but for the Customers from either other banks or to the new Customers.

The Foreign Banks are more aggressively luring the under-cutting by not announcing in the Public. But, their Agents are active in the market. The first two to three years, leverages are been given and then again the same old bad practice prevails as to not to give advantage of interest rate reduction to the Borrower of floating rate housing finance.

QUALITY ASSURANCE IS MANDATORY FOR APARTMENTS

QUALITY ASSURANCE IS MANDATORY FOR APARTMENTS

Quality assurance in construction activity relates to properdesign, use of adequate quality materials and components supplied by various vendors, proper execution of work by the contractor during construction and finally proper care during the use of structure including timely and periodic maintenance and repair by the user of owner. Hence, for quality structure every one starting from the planner, architect, designer, contractor, supplier of materials and the owner become responsible.  Only then the final structure will have satisfactory strength, serviceability and long durability ensuring advantageous lower life cycle cost.  Most apartment buildings are made of R.C.C. framers.  The properties of thecompleted structures should be consistent with the user requirement and assumptions mad e during the planning and design.  This could be achieved only by proper quality assurance measurers.

Quality assurance involves both technical and organizational aspects.  The apartment project should have an explicit quality assurance Plan.  This plan should identify key elements necessary to provide fitness of structure and the methods by which it is provided and quantitatively measured.  This will give all the stakeholders, the confidence that the realized project will work as per norms in service, thus fulfilling the user needs.  This will involve quality checks (audit) of both inputs andoutputs.  Inputs are in the form of materials machinery and manpower. Workmanship in all stages of batching mixing transportation, placing compaction and curing should be explicitly checked and recorded. The quality of the final product will be satisfactory only if approved plants and machinery and equipments for the process are used.  All these should form part of the quality assurance plan.  To ensure that the inputs comply with design an inspection procedure should be set up covering materials, records, workmanship and construction.  Tests should be made on reinforcements and constituent material of concrete in accordance with Bureau of Indian Standards.  

There should be clear instructions on inspection standards.  The elements should be checked against the design detail with due allowance for dimensional tolerance.  The output is in the form of concrete and elements of the structure in place.  To ensure proper performance each step in construction should be inspected before the next step is taken.  This should be followed as the work progress.  Care should be taken to see that elements critical to workmanship, structural performance, durability and appearance are identified for special inspection.  The system to verify the quality should include the individual parts of the structure especially the identified critical ones.  Immediately after striping the form work, all concrete shall be carefully inspected and any blemishes or defects rectified before proceeding with further work.

SUPERVISION.

Supervision at each step is a part of the plan.  It is not possible to alter concrete dimension once placed.  Hence constant and strict supervision is a must during the progress of work.  This should include all aspects of concreting such as proportioning, mixing, placing and curing.  Supervision is of extreme importance to check the reinforcements and its relative disposition before being covered by concrete.  Each and every contributor to the project should make and implement a quality assurance plan with respect to the project.  Supplier, contractor and subcontractor’s participation should be covered by the overall plan. The individual agency’s quality assurance plan should fit as a part of overall plan. The plan should define the tasks and responsibilities of all agencies involved.   It should state adequate checking procedures and the organizational set-up for documentation.  The owner should have a periodic maintenance plan to ensure long and trouble-free service from the quality structure.  Maintenance is also required to keep the structure in a fit condition to resist unexpected overloading due to disasters such as earthquakes and cyclones.  Such maintenance scheme will also reduce the life cycle cost of the structure.

The documents should necessarily include the following:

Approved site layout plan,

Architectural plan,

Soil report and bore log data.

Structural design details with structural plan,

Test report and manufacturers certificate for materials concrete mix design details.

Pore cards for site organization and clearance for concrete placement.

Records for site inspection of workmanship.

Periodic filed test results,

Non-conformance reports and correction action taken,

Quality control charts.

Completion report with a suggested maintenance scheme.

Quality control charges are necessary if concrete is in continuous production over a long period of time.

REAL ESTATE ISSUES AND CONSUMER COURTS

Advocate Selvakumar | property advocates in Bangalore | advocates in Bangalore

One of the most flourishing industries in India today is the real estate industry. The number of builders and developers who offer special features to attract prospective buyers as the demand for residential and commercial property is increasing day by day. The Builders/Developers’ role in this industry is very important.  Naturally there is mismatch between the promises made and what actually delivered, which is the rising cause for the consumers, i.e., buyers, dissatisfaction and grievances.

The Consumer Courts plays an important role in redressing the grievances of the Buyers / Consumers who have suffered in the hands of the Builders/Developers.  

In cases where the builders make false promises to the flat purchasers and do not comply with their statutory obligations, the allottee has an option to file a criminal case in a criminal Court for cheating, breach of contract, not responding the grievance and delivery of poor quality construction against the builder along with the consumer complaint to be filed in consumer forum.,. The allottee can issue a statutory notice to the builder. In case the builder does not respond to the notice, parties have a right to approach the Criminal Court.  A police complaint can be filed after the issue of notice and then a criminal complaint can be filed before the Metropolitan Magistrate. The complainant should bring out irregularities committed by the builders while executing the constructions of the building. 

Following are the general complaints/grievances of the buyers, apart from some specific complaints:

1. Sub standard work:

The Builders/Developers, in the competitive market, throw number of promises, discounts and lucrative description of the property at the time of booking for a property by a prospective buyer.

Ø  In one of its judgment the Supreme Court of India has held that if a builder uses sub-standard material in construction of a building or makes false and misleading representations about the condition of the house then it is denial of the facility or benefit of which a consumer is entitled to claim value.

Ø  In cases where the end product delivered to the buyer is of substandard in quality, the buyer has the remedy to file a consumer complaint in the Consumer forum against the Builder/Developer for deficiency in services. In such cases the consumer forums have ordered the builders to remove the defects and also pay compensation to the allottee. The allottee also has an option to file a civil suit against the builder claiming damages for breach of obligations.

2. Construction without approvals:

Ø  The consumer forums have held that where the plot has been sold by the authorities/Builders without taking proper approval of the layout plans and as a result of which the possession could not be delivered to the prospective allottee, such an act on the part of the builder amounts to deficiency in service.

Ø  In case where the builder constructed the property without the required approvals from the authorities, the allottee/buyer can file a consumer complaint against the builder for deficiency in service. He can also file a civil suit against the builder for refund of the amount. In such cases the allottee can also approach the regulatory authority that was to issue the required approval which can statutorily force the builder to obtain the approval.

Ø  In such case, subsequent to allotment of the plots, the Supreme Court had banned the construction activity in five km radius of Badkhal Lake and since the complainants’ plot fell within the said Supreme Court directions and the Commission directed the builder/developer to refund the amount along with interest, holding that the complainants/ allottees were entitled to compensation.

3. Construction on illegally acquired land:

Ø  In cases where the construction has been made on illegally acquired land, the buyer/allottee can approach the consumer forum or the civil court for his grievance redressal. In such cases the allottee can either claim the refund of the amount invested by him in the property or he can ask for an alternate accommodation by the same builder.

Ø  The Supreme Court has held that even the advertisements inviting applications for allotment without having title to the land was deceptive and unfair trade practice of the builders.

4. Fraud in booking:

Ø  In cases of fraud in booking, the buyer/allottee can file a complaint against the builder in the consumer forum or file a civil suit in civil court. In case of fraud, the allottee can also file a criminal complaint before the police.

Ø  Note:

Ø  The Supreme Court has held that the name of the applicant not being considered at the time of the draw notwithstanding that the applicant had fulfilled all the requirements of the advertisement was held to be a deficiency in service,  as such, an applicant had a right for consideration of his application along with similarly situated persons and if at the appropriate time his name had been considered and allotted a plot, he would have been able to raise construction thereon with the resources at his disposal.

Ø  It was held that by unduly and unlawfully denying him the opportunity of allotment, a reasonable and just compensation was required to be fixed and paid.

Ø  It was also held that a period of 9 months to a year is justifiable period to return the application fee without any interest, but if it can be demonstrated that the delay on the part of the Authorities in refunding the application fee was unreasonable, the courts have awarded interest notwithstanding that the brochure inviting the applications clearly provided that no interest would be paid by the Development Authorities.

5. Change of land use, layout plan and structures without the approval of the buyer:

Ø  If the builder wants to undertake additional construction, which is not part of the layout plan shown to flat buyer at the time of executing the purchase agreement he must obtain the consent of the buyer. In cases of the builder/developer makes changes in the use of land or in the layout plan and the structures with respect to the one given in the agreement, the buyer must send a legal notice to the builder and if he does not respond to the same the allottee can file a complaint against the builder in the consumer forum or file a civil suit in a civil court.

Ø  The buyer can also file a complaint before the Competition Commission of India if he is able to show that the builder is a dominant entity in the market and is misusing his position to the detriment of the allottee by unilaterally altering the layout plan or structures of the building.

6. Hidden charges:

Ø  If the allottee is overburdened by the excessive hidden charges in the Buyer Builder agreement, the buyer can file a civil suit in a civil court.

Ø  The allottee can also file a complaint before the Competition Commission of India if he is able to show that the builder is a dominant entity in the market and is misusing his position to the detriment of the allottee by unilaterally imposing exorbitant hidden charges.

7. Enhanced external development charges:

Ø  If the builder demands enhanced development charges from the allottees, the allottee can file a civil suit in a civil court.

8. Cancellation of booking/project:

Ø  After receiving the booking amount, if the builder cancels the booking, the allottee can send him a legal notice regarding the same and in case the no solution comes out or the builder does not respond to the notice, then the  allottee can file a consumer complaint against him for refund for his booking amount.

Ø  The allottee can also file a civil/Criminal case against the builder.

9. Forfeiture of amount:

Insertion of a penalty clause which is biased in favour of builder/developer is also one of the unfair practices committed by the builders. In most of the cases, the agreement contains a penalty clause in which the buyer is charged a penalty @ 18% for delayed payments in the purchase of a flat, when the builder delays the delivery of the same flat, the rate at which the builder pays is only about @ 1 to 2 % showing an unfairly loaded contract. Precautions to be taken by a prospective buyer

Ø  The terms and conditions of the agreement entered into between the builder and the allottee determines the refund of the booking amount. If the agreement contains an expert clause that the builder has right to forfeit certain percent of the booking amount, then there is no legal recourse. But if the agreement does not contain any such clause then the allottee can issue a legal notice to the builder.

Ø  The allottee can also approach a consumer forum in case the cancellation is on account of the delay caused by the builder in the completion of the project. The National Commission has held that if the request for refund is made by the allottee on the ground that there has been a considerable long delay in development or handing over of the possession of the plots, then the allottee can approach the consumer along with 18 per cent interest.

10. Delay in delivering possession:

Non-delivery of possession on time is one of the major areas of conflict between the developers and the buyers. There are numerous cases where builders have taken more than the required time to finish projects while leaving home buyers to suffer financial loss. Whatsoever be the reason, the delay in completion of the project has a direct impact on the buyer. The buyer has to pay the EMIs of the bank and also the rent for his current residence. The financial loss and mental agony that the buyer has to face cannot be compensated except by giving him the physical possession of his house. The Supreme Court has held that when possession of the property is not given within the stipulated period, the delay is denial of service. Such disputes or claims are not with respect to immovable property but 'deficiency in rendering of service' of a particular standard, quality or grade.

       In case of delay in delivery of possession by the builder, the legal options that are available to the allottee / buyer is:

Ø  to file a consumer complaint or file a civil suit against the builder for the refund of amount paid to the builder and the interest thereon.

Ø  file a complaint before the Competition commission of India if the builder is a dominant entity in the market and using his dominant position to the detriment of the buyer.

Ø  Note:

Ø  A person who applies for allotment of a building site, or flat constructed by the development authority or entered into an agreement with a builder or contractor is a potential user and the nature of construction is covered in the expression service of any description.

Ø  The Court also held that the compensation awarded by the consumer courts in such cases should serve the dual purpose of recompensing the individual while simultaneously bringing about a qualitative change in the attitude of service providers towards consumers.

Ø  In another case the Supreme Court has held that in a specific case, where it is found that the delay was culpable and there is no contributory negligence by the allottee resulting in harassment/injury, both mental and physical, the forum/commission would not be precluded from making an award in excess of 12% per annum.

Ø  National Consumer Commission has also held that the buyer is entitled to a refund of the entire money with reasonable interest, and any deduction by the builder is unjustified.

11. Creation of third party interests:

Ø  Where a builder creates a third party interest in the flat allotted to a person, the allottee /buyer can serve a legal notice to the builder and in case there is no response from the builder the allottee /buyer  can file a consumer complaint against the builder or can file a civil case. The allottee / buyer can also file a criminal complaint against the builder for cheating and fraud.

12. Not providing completion certificate:

Ø  In case the builder has not received the completion certificate from the concerned authority, the allottee/buyer can file a RTI application with the SPIO of the local Municipality demanding the copies of all the documents submitted for seeking approval of the concerned authorities and can file the required NOCs with the concerned authority and can obtain the completion certificate himself.

Ø  If the builder has obtained the completion certificate and not willing to give it to the allottee, then he can file a consumer complaint or file a civil suit against the builder.