The Supreme Court on Monday asked realty major Unitech to deposit Rs 15.5 crore within eight weeks for not handing over flats at its Vista housing complex in Gurugram. The money will be distributed proportionately among the 39 home buyers, reported ANI. The bench, headed by Justice Dipak Misra, will take up the matter again for hearing in the second week of August.

The Rs 15.5 crore includes 14% interest on the principal amount, reported DNA. The court said the final calculation of interest will be done once the case is disposed of. During its earlier hearing in April, the court had warned Unitech with coercive steps, like attaching their property, if it failed to deposit the amount of interest on or before May 8. Coercive measures are taken to compel an individual or group to act against their will by using force or the threat of force.

The top court said the home buyers will not have to pay any tax on this money. “The court said the term ‘interest’ in the order has only been used for the purpose of computing the compensation. It thus indicated that no tax deductible at source will be deducted on the interest amount as it is being treated as compensation,” advocate Pawanshree Agrawal told ETRealty

Unitech Vistas in Gurugram’s Sector 70, which has 1,265 apartments, was launched in 2009 and the flats were supposed to be handed over in December 2012. The investors had first approached the national consumer forum, alleging that the project was running behind schedule by three years and was nowhere close to completion. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission then slapped a fine on the firm and asked it to hand over the flats.

Unitech had challenged the forum’s order in the Supreme Court. The real estate major had then pleaded for leniency and said that it did not have enough money to pay the buyers. The court had asked for a list of buyers who wanted to get their money back from the company.

On August 17 last year, the Supreme Court had ordered Unitech to deposit Rs 15 crore for the buyers.