The Income Tax Department said on Wednesday that it has identified over 400 benami transactions and attached properties worth ₹600 crore in about 240 cases.
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Keen on implementing the new Benami Act to ensure “visible outcomes on the ground”, the department had set up 24 dedicated Benami Prohibition Units (BPUs) all over India last week. It started initiating actions under the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 from November 1 last year. The law provides for a maximum punishment of seven years in jail and a fine.
Benami property includes assets both movable or immovable, tangible or intangible, corporeal or incorporeal that is in the name of someone other than the beneficial owner.
“The Income Tax Directorates of Investigation have identified more than 400 benami transactions up to May 23, 2017. These include deposits in bank accounts, plots of land, flat and jewellery,” said an official release.
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“Immovable properties have been attached in 40 cases, with a total value of more than ₹530 crore, in Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh,” the department said. It has also undertaken searches on 10 “senior government officials” during the past one month, in line with its policy to “unearth black money earned through corrupt practices and introduce accountability and probity in public life.”
In one case in Jabalpur, the “benamidar,” a driver, was found to be the owner of land worth ₹7.7 crore. The beneficial owner was a Madhya Pradesh-based listed company, his employer.
In Mumbai, a professional was found to be holding several immovable properties in the name of shell companies which existed only on paper.