Nirali Nayak 29 June 2021
Hello, greetings of the day.
As per your query although you can pay in cash but there is a limitation.
The government has banned cash transactions involving Rs 2 lakh and over through the Finance Act, 2017. A new Section 269ST was inserted in the Income Tax Act, banning cash dealings of Rs 2 lakh and more on a single day, towards a single transaction or transactions relating to one event or occasion by a person. The department recently issued a warning, saying cash transactions of Rs 2 lakh or more will attract a penalty of an equal amount. Now, you will have to pay a service charge on all cash transactions of over Rs 2 lakh. Also, accepting cash of Rs 2 lakh or more from one person in a day or for one or more transactions relating to one event is now banned. Cash transactions of certain types, even if the amount is lower than the set limit of Rs 2 lakh, have been banned. For example one is banned from using Rs 20,000 or more in cash for transfer of immovable property. Also, paying more than Rs 10,000 in cash to a business or a professional is prohibited. In real estate transactions which are highly capital intensive amounts of this size are paid as the earnest money to assure the seller of your genuine intentions of being interested in a deal. Now a seller receiving that kind of cash would certainly be in trouble. It would be, therefore, in the best interest of the buyer as well as the seller to use banking channels to pay even the smallest of the amounts.
Hope this helps.
Regards
Nirali Nayak
Law Student