In our guide to the MahaRERA 70% Separate Account and Order 56/2024, we explained how buyer collections are split across the Collection Account (100%), the Separate Account (at least 70%) and the Transaction Account (up to 30%).
For a developer — and for any bank or NBFC providing construction finance — the practical question every month is: how much money can actually be withdrawn from the 70% Separate Account today? That number is governed by Form 1, Form 2 and Form 3 under Regulation 3 of the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (General) Regulations, 2017.
Who signs Form 1, Form 2, Form 3, Form 4 and Form 5?
MahaRERA assigns distinct statutory roles to four professionals on every registered project. Mixing up the certifying CA and the statutory auditor is one of the most common compliance errors:
| Form | Who signs it | When it is required | What it certifies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form 1 | Project Architect | At initial RERA registration, for every withdrawal from the 70% Separate Account, and for quarterly portal updates | Physical percentage of completion of each building/wing (plinth, slabs, brick work, internal plaster, MEP, lifts, finishing) and internal/external development works |
| Form 2 | Project Engineer | At initial RERA registration, for every withdrawal from the 70% Separate Account, and for quarterly updates | Total estimated construction cost and actual construction cost incurred on site up to the certificate date |
| Form 3 | Practising Chartered Accountant (must NOT be the project's statutory auditor) | At initial RERA registration, for every withdrawal from the 70% Separate Account, and for quarterly updates | Land cost and development cost (estimated vs incurred as per books), proportion of cost incurred, and the maximum amount the promoter can withdraw |
| Form 4 | Project Architect | On completion of the project / receipt of Occupation Certificate (OC) | Completion of the registered project; once received, Circular 07/2017 allows the balance in the Separate Account to be withdrawn |
| Form 5 | Statutory Auditor (CA) | Annually, within 6 months after the end of every financial year (i.e., by 30 September) | Annual audit confirming that withdrawals from the Separate Account were utilised only for the project and remained in proportion to completion |
Under Circular No. 39/2021, the promoter must submit Forms 1, 2 and 3 to the scheduled bank for every withdrawal right up to the Occupation Certificate or Completion Certificate, and upload copies on the MahaRERA portal.
How Form 3 calculates your maximum eligible withdrawal
Inside Form 3, the certifying Chartered Accountant computes two cost buckets — Land Cost (Clause 1(i)) and Development / Construction Cost (Clause 1(ii)) — in parallel columns for Estimated Cost and Actual Cost Incurred.
Bucket 1: Land Cost (Clause 1(i))
Includes both acquisition cost and regulatory/redevelopment rights costs:
- Acquisition cost of land or development rights, lease premium, stamp duty and registration charges.
- Cost of buying TDR (Transferable Development Rights) and FSI / fungible FSI premiums paid to the planning authority.
- In a society redevelopment project, rehabilitation costs: estimated construction cost of rehab flats (certified by the engineer), transit rent / displacement allowance, shifting charges, corpus payments, and clearance/encumbrance removal costs.
Bucket 2: Development Cost / Cost of Construction (Clause 1(ii))
- Construction cost (
(a)(i)vs(a)(ii)— the "lower of the two" rule):(a)(i)is the actual cost of construction certified by the Engineer in Form 2.(a)(ii)is the actual cost of construction incurred as per the books of accounts, verified by the CA.- Rule: Form 3 strictly counts the lower of
(a)(i)and(a)(ii). If you paid an advance to a contractor (books > engineer), you cannot count the unexecuted advance; if the contractor built the slab on credit (engineer > books), you cannot count unpaid bills not booked/incurred.
- On-site expenditure (
(a)(iii)): Salaries, consultants' fees (architect, structural engineer, PMC), site overheads, water, electricity, equipment hire and consumables directly attributable to the project. - Statutory taxes, cess, fees and charges (
(b)): Scrutiny fees, IOD/CC charges, labour welfare cess, LUC and statutory payments to authorities. - Finance cost (
(c)— interest yes, principal no):- Under Circular No. 05/2017 and Order No. 56/2024, interest and finance charges payable to banks or NBFCs on construction finance count as part of Development Cost.
- Principal repayment of a project loan is shown in brackets in Form 3 for disclosure only — it is not added to Total Project Cost.
The withdrawal formula
Once the CA sums Bucket 1 + Bucket 2:
Proportion of Cost Incurred (%) = (Total Cost Incurred till Date ÷ Total Estimated Cost of the Project) × 100
Net Amount Withdrawable Now = (Total Estimated Cost × Proportion of Cost Incurred) − Amount Already Withdrawn till Date
Notice that Total Estimated Cost × Proportion of Cost Incurred simplifies algebraically to Total Cost Incurred till Date (provided Estimated Cost has not been revised downward without disclosures). However, Form 3 requires the full ratio disclosure because any increase in Total Estimated Cost reduces your percentage completion and immediately tightens the withdrawal limit!
Worked ₹ example of a Form 3 withdrawal calculation
Suppose a residential project in Thane has the following figures (in ₹ crore) at the 4th slab stage:
| Form 3 Line Item | Estimated Cost (₹ Cr) | Incurred till Date (₹ Cr) | What Form 3 Counts (₹ Cr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1(i) Land cost (land, TDR, FSI premium, stamp duty) | ₹12.00 Cr | ₹12.00 Cr | ₹12.00 Cr |
| 1(ii)(a) Construction cost: Engineer's Form 2 = ₹13.50 Cr; Books = ₹14.00 Cr (lower of the two counted) | ₹30.00 Cr | ₹13.50 Cr / ₹14.00 Cr | ₹13.50 Cr |
| 1(ii)(a)(iii) On-site development expenditure | ₹4.00 Cr | ₹1.60 Cr | ₹1.60 Cr |
| 1(ii)(b) Statutory taxes, cess, fees to authorities | ₹2.50 Cr | ₹1.80 Cr | ₹1.80 Cr |
| 1(ii)(c) Interest on construction finance (principal repaid shown separately in brackets, not added) | ₹3.00 Cr | ₹0.90 Cr | ₹0.90 Cr |
Total Project Cost (Clause 2) |
₹51.50 Cr | ₹29.80 Cr | |
Proportion of cost incurred (Clause 3 = 29.80 ÷ 51.50) |
57.86% | ||
Maximum cumulative withdrawal allowed (Clause 4) |
₹29.80 Cr | ||
Less: Amount already withdrawn from Separate Account till date (Clause 5) |
–₹26.00 Cr | ||
Net maximum amount that can be withdrawn now (Clause 6) |
₹3.80 Cr |
If the Separate Account currently holds ₹4.50 crore, the promoter can withdraw ₹3.80 crore against this set of Forms 1, 2 and 3. If the Separate Account holds only ₹2.15 crore, the promoter can withdraw the ₹2.15 crore now and withdraw the remaining ₹1.65 crore in tranches as further buyer collections sweep in, using a covering letter under the same Form 3 until the next certificate is due.
Run your own project numbers in seconds with our MahaRERA separate account withdrawal calculator (Form 3).
The "Additional Information for Ongoing Projects" test (70% vs 100% deposit)
At the bottom of Form 3, the CA must also test whether 70% of future collections is enough to finish the building:
- Estimated Balance Cost to Complete the Project =
Total Estimated Cost − Total Cost Incurred(in our example above:₹51.50 Cr − ₹29.80 Cr = ₹21.70 Cr). - Total Estimated Receivables =
Balance money receivable from already sold flats (as per registered agreements) + Value of unsold flats calculated at ASR / Ready Reckoner value. - The 100% trigger:
- If Estimated Receivables > Balance Cost to Complete, the standard 70% deposit rule continues.
- If Estimated Receivables ≤ Balance Cost to Complete (meaning the project has a funding deficit on a Ready Reckoner basis unless external debt/equity comes in), Form 3 specifies that 100% of amounts to be realised from allottees must be deposited into the Separate Account so that construction does not stall.
Why Form 1, 2 and 3 matter for your construction finance sanction
When you apply for construction finance, the lender's technical and credit teams cross-examine your past Form 1, 2 and 3 filings on the MahaRERA portal:
- Cost escalation red flags: If your initial Form 2 estimated construction cost at ₹30 crore and your latest Form 2 revised it to ₹42 crore without a change in sanction plans, the lender will ask how the ₹12 crore cost overrun will be funded (promoter equity vs debt).
- Physical vs financial mismatch: If Form 1 (Architect) shows 25% physical completion while Form 2 (Engineer) and Form 3 (CA) show 55% of construction cost spent, it signals front-loaded spending or cost overruns.
- Disbursement milestones: Banks and NBFCs match their own project monitoring consultant (PMC) certificates against your Form 1, 2 and 3 numbers before releasing each construction loan tranche, and verify that interest debited on the construction loan is properly certified in Form 3 Clause 1(ii)(c).
Check how much external debt your project needs alongside buyer collections using our construction finance requirement calculator and prepare your application file with our construction finance document checklist.
How Biz Corp Solutions helps
We arrange construction finance and inventory funding of ₹5 crore to ₹500 crore for builders and developers across Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Maharashtra. We work closely with your project architect, engineer and chartered accountant to align your MahaRERA Form 1, 2 and 3 filings, Order 56/2024 bank accounts and cash-flow projections with lender appraisal standards.
This guide reflects Section 4(2)(l)(D) of RERA 2016, Regulation 3 of the MahaRERA (General) Regulations 2017, Circulars 05/2017, 07/2017 and 39/2021, and Order No. 56/2024 as of October 2026. Always have your practising Chartered Accountant verify the latest MahaRERA circulars before issuing Form 3.