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Modi government notifies special courts for benami transaction cases

The central government has notified Sessions courts in 34 states and Union Territories, which will act as special courts for trial of offences under the benami transaction law.

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The central government has notified Sessions courts in 34 states and Union Territories, which will act as special courts for trial of offences under the benami transaction law.

The court (s) of Session in the states and UT were notified after consultation with Chief Justices of respective High Courts under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 (45 of 1988) for the trial of offences punishable under the provisions of the Act, said a notification of Finance Ministry.

In case of National Capital Territory of Delhi, Courts of Additional Sessions Judge 02 in each district have been designated as special court.

The law prescribes that every trial should be conducted "as expeditiously as possible" and every endeavour should be made by the Special Court to conclude it within six months from the date of filing of the complaint.

Benami transaction refers transactions made in a fictitious name, or the owner is not aware of the ownership of the property, or the person paying for the property is not traceable.

With a view to curb the menace of black money, Parliament in August 2016 had passed the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act.

The rules and all the provisions of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act come into force on November 1, 2016.

After coming into effect, the existing Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, was renamed as the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988. 

in June, over 1,500 ‘benami’ properties worth Rs 43 billion had been attached in the past 18 months by the Income Tax Department.

The properties have been attached in wake of the ‘benami legislation’ that was passed during the same time. According to a Business Standard report, Jaipur and Mumbai top the list, with attachments of 200 properties each.

Patna has seen the least number of attachments at 30, followed by Lucknow at 50, while in Kolkata, Chandigarh, and Hyderabad, 144, 110, and 100 properties got attached, respectively, the report added.

Benami transactions essentially mean black money is invested in properties in the names of others, even though the benefits are enjoyed by the investor concealing his/her ownership in the tax returns.

While the department has attached the properties, a report earlier this month suggested that over 780 benami asset attachments worth crores of rupees run the risk of being invalidated. The reason is the failure of the government to form an adjudicating authority for over a year-and-a-half since the stringent law was enforced.

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