Section 3 of RERA and Project Registration in West Bengal: A Guide for Promoters

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 gave the real estate sector something it had lacked for decades. A uniform set of rules for taking a project to market. Not a patchwork of state practices. The Act brought a standing operating procedure like registration, disclosure, accountability and dispute resolution for the entire real estate sector. They're no longer a matter of individual reputation. A promoter who registers correctly stands on the same clear footing as everyone else in the market. Section 3 of the Act sits at the center of this. It's the provision that decides whether a promoter can lawfully take a project to market at all.

What does Section 3 of RERA actually require?

Section 3(1) has a clear direction that no promoter may advertise, market, book, sell, or offer for sale any plot, apartment, or building in a real estate project. A promoter may invite anyone to purchase the property only after registering that project with the Regulatory Authority. It doesn’t matter whether the marketing is a hoarding, a newspaper ad, a website listing, or a verbal booking taken in a sales office. All of it falls within the prohibition, and all of it has to wait until registration is granted.

The provision also reaches backwards i.e. Retroactive in nature, Projects that were already under construction when RERA came into force, and hadn’t yet received a completion certificate, were required to apply for registration within three months of the Act commencing.

Does every project in West Bengal need to register?

Under Section 3(2) of the central Act, the default exemption is generous-

1. No registration is required where the land proposed to be developed does not exceed 500 square meters, or
2. Where the number of apartments proposed does not exceed eight, across all phases.

That’s the figure most generic guides quote — but it isn’t the figure that applies in West Bengal.

Section 3(2) also lets a state government lower this threshold, on the Regulatory Authority’s recommendation. West Bengal did exactly that in 2023. The Housing Department notified a reduced threshold of 200 square meters of land, or six apartments inclusive of all phases — with immediate effect and Cabinet approval.

Cross either figure and registration stops being optional. For a promoter comparing notes with a project elsewhere in the country, this is a materially tighter bar, a six-flat building on a modest urban plot, which would comfortably sit under the central Act’s exemption, needs WBRERA registration in West Bengal.

How does the registration process work in West Bengal?

• Filing is done through the WBRERA portal. Applications go through the official website www.wbrera.gov.in and as of December 2025, WBRERA has stopped accepting offline filings — the portal is now the sole channel for registration.
• The application itself is Form A, filed by the promoter along with a separate declaration in Form B, in which the promoter undertakes not to discriminate against any allottee at the time of allotment.
• The documentation requirement is layered. Section 4 of the Act sets out the baseline — details of the promoter, the project, sanctioned plans, the architect and contractor, and a declaration on the land title and completion timeline. West Bengal’s 2021 Rules add to this list. Taken together, a promoter filing in West Bengal should be ready with:
  • An authenticated copy of the promoter’s PAN card, and of all partners or directors where the promoter is a company or firm
  • The promoter’s audited balance sheet for the preceding financial year, and income tax returns for the three preceding years
  • A copy of GST registration
  • The legal title deed to the project land, together with a mutation certificate — or, where the promoter isn’t the landowner, the collaboration or joint development agreement along with the owner’s title documents and consent
  • Full details of any encumbrances on the land
  • A certificate of enlistment from the relevant local authority, where applicable
  • Sanctioned layout, site, and building plans, along with specifications
  • The number of open parking areas in the project
  • NOCs and approvals from fire, environment, municipal, and other relevant authorities
  • Details of the architect, structural engineer, and contractor engaged on the project
  • The promoter’s track record of projects executed over the preceding five years, including delays, if any
  • Proforma copies of the allotment letter, agreement for sale, and conveyance deed
  • Details of the dedicated project bank account into which 70% of amounts collected from allottees must be deposited, as required under Section 4(2)(l)(D).

Fees are calculated on the land area.

• Under the West Bengal Rules, residential projects are charged ₹10 per square meter where the land does not exceed 1,000 square meters, and ₹20 per square meter where it does.
• Commercial and other projects are charged ₹50 and ₹100 per square meter respectively, on the same threshold.
• Payment can be made by demand draft or electronic transfer. Because this calculation determines whether an application is treated as complete, it’s worth having the figure verified before submission rather than after WBRERA raises a query on it.
• WBRERA has 30 days to decide. The Authority must either grant or refuse registration within 30 days of a complete application being filed. If it does neither, Section 5 deems the registration granted, and
• WBRERA is required to issue a registration certificate and number regardless. Where registration is granted, it comes through in Form C; where it’s refused, WBRERA communicates this in Form D, but only after giving the promoter a chance to cure any defect in the application.

Once granted, the registration number has to be displayed on every advertisement, brochure, and agreement for sale connected with that project.

What happens if a project isn’t registered?

The consequences go beyond simply being unable to advertise. Section 59 of the Act makes non-registration of a project that requires registration punishable with a penalty extending up to 10% of the estimated project cost, and continued non-compliance can escalate to imprisonment.

The West Bengal Rules apply the same 10%-of-project-cost benchmark when the offence is compounded before a court. Beyond the statutory penalty, an unregistered project simply has no lawful route to market — no advertisement, brochure, or booking connected to it can stand once WBRERA or a buyer challenges its status.

Conclusion

Section 3 reflects RERA’s central premise: registration is what gives a promoter a clear, defensible legal position to launch and sell from, and what gives buyers and lenders the confidence to commit to a project on that basis. For promoters, that means registration isn’t a formality to complete after the marketing plan is ready — it’s the step that has to come first, and the one that protects everything built on top of it. The framework is common to every applicant, but how it plays out depends on the specifics of a project’s title, its ownership structure, and its documentation, which is where most delays before WBRERA actually originate.