Benami attachments worth crores may fall flat
4 Jun 2018 5:33 AM IST
New Delhi: Over 780 benami asset attachments worth crores of rupees run the risk of being invalidated shortly as the government has failed to create a designated adjudicating authority for over a year-and-a-half since the stringent law was enforced to deal with black money and corruption.
The Benami Property Transaction Act, enacted in 1988, was revived and enforced by the current government from November 1, 2016, the month that also saw demonetisation of two big currencies of the country by a declaration made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Section 7 of this law, that attracts a rigorous imprisonment of up to seven years and fine up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the property, requires the government to create an independent 3-member Adjudicating Authority (like the one for PMLA) that will decide on the validity of the attachment of properties made under this legislation by the Income Tax Department (ITD).
In the absence of such an authority for over 1.5 years now, the government has entrusted the task of handling these cases on an ad-hoc basis and as a "transitional" arrangement to the already short-staffed and over-burdened Adjudicating Authority for the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), a stringent law enforced by the Enforcement Directorate.
Official records show that while over 860 such cases have been finalised by the tax department and sent to this authority till now, only about 80 could be adjudicated, leaving a pendency of about 780 cases.
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