All you need to know about Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016

Information 11.09.2017 0 Comments 570 Add to Reading List

The Next Steps of PM Modi Could be very Sour for the Persons those who Does not Follow the Law and make the money by an illegal ways .They don’t want to follow the Law and give the same teaching to the young generation . By this only some people even does not realize that they are doing some illegal activity. To Remove the corruption some strict decision have to be take.

Some of the Decision Could Mr Narendra Modi (Honorable PM) can Take which are as follows :

Renegotiation of Tax Treaties and Automatic Information Exchange Agreements with Tax Havens

The government renegotiated the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Mauritius to impose Capital Gains Tax if such Capital Asset is situated in India. The Narendra Modi Government also negotiated an Automatic Information Exchange Agreement with Switzerland. Agreements are also being negotiated with other tax havens. From 2017, Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries have agreed to share information on foreign account holders with their home countries.

Penalty on Real Estate Transactions undertaken in Cash exceeding Rs 20,000

The Narendra Modi Government imposed a penalty of 20 per cent on all cash transactions exceeding Rs 20,000 to purchase or sell a property (real estate). This was aimed at curbing the role of black money in real estate transactions.

Give a chance again to people to disclose their Black Money while paying 50% to 60% tax on money which is deposited in Bank (other persons)

Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill

The Parliament passed the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 (BTP Amendment Act) in August. It came into force from November 1, 2016. The new law seeks to give more teeth to the authorities to curb benami transactions. The notification issued by the Income Tax department, stated that after coming into effect, the BTP Amendment Act, the existing Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, shall be renamed as Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 (PBPT Act).

He said demonetization was a “secret operation” by his government that took 10 months to plan by a “small and trusted group” of people.

In over an hour long speech where Modi was overcome by emotion more than once, Modi said bureaucrats in Delhi have benami flats in Goa. He said his government has passed a law that has enabled it to crackdown on such properties.

Parliament passed the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016, in the monsoon session earlier this year. The amended law prescribes seven-year rigorous imprisonment for those dealing in black money in the real estate sector and also confiscation of benami properties.

The PM, digressing a little from the issue of black money, also indicated that a war wasn’t a probability. There has been speculation that India-Pakistan relations could lead to a border conflagration after the Indian Army’s “surgical strike” on terror launch pads on the Line of Control on September 29.

“I was recently talking to a journalist who brought up the possibility of war. I told him what a war could entail. How electricity supply might stop, trains will stop running as railway employees will be pushed into the war effort. He (the journalist) was shocked (at the ramifications),” the PM said. He said it was easy to indulge in talk of waging a war but reality was starker. The PM didn’t mention either Pakistan or “surgical strikes”.

The PM said his crackdown on black money would lead to housing for the poor, education of their children and cheaper medicines for the elderly. He said India’s demographic dividend, where 65 per cent of the population, or over 800 million people, were below 35 years of age and needed opportunities.

The Bill, with just nine sections, had been passed by Parliament in 1988 but could never be enforced for lack of provisions in the Act for its implementation. The NDA government, Jaitley said, had chosen to bring an amendment Bill (with 71 sections) instead of a new Bill so that those who entered into benami transactions since 1988 cannot seek exemption.

Moving the Bill for consideration and passage, the minister said the legislation was predominately an anti-black money measure and its purpose is to seize benami property and prosecute those indulging in such activities. “A lot of people who have unaccounted money buy benami property in the name of fictitious persons… These transactions have to be discouraged,” he said.

On concerns expressed by certain members about religious properties or those owned by deities or religious institutions, Jaitley said such bonafide entities will be exempted. “There is Section 58 under the law which clearly states that (properties of) charitable or religious organization… the government has power to exempt those,” Jaitley said responding to concerns expressed by some members.

RSP MP N K Premachandran raised objections to such exemption, saying this would give an escape route to unscrupulous people, who, he added, would register as religious organizations and buy property in their names.

Responding to questions on why the government hadn’t come out with a new law, the minister said such a move would have given immunity to persons who acquired benami properties between 1988 and 2016. “The 1988 Act has penal provisions. Penal provisions cannot be applied retrospectively. So if a new Bill was passed in 2016, all those who acquired benami properties before 2016 would be exempt.”

Several members also raised the issue of why the Bill vested the confiscated benami property with the Centre when property was a state subject. Jaitley said that in all Central laws, confiscated property was always vested with the Centre just as in state laws, it was vested with the state.

According to THE HINDU Worldwide News Paper:

The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015 was introduced in Lok Sabha on May 13, 2015. The Bill seeks to amend the Benami Transactions Act, 1988. The Act prohibits benami transactions and provides for confiscating benami properties.

The Bill seeks to: (i) amend the definition of benami transactions, (ii) establish adjudicating authorities and an Appellate Tribunal to deal with benami transactions, and (iii) specify the penalty for entering into benami transactions.

1	The Act defines a benami transactions as a transaction where a property is held by or transferred to a person, but has been provided for or paid by another person. The Bill amends this definition to add other transactions which qualify as benami, such as property transactions where: (i) the transaction is made in a fictitious name, (ii) the owner is not aware of denies knowledge of the ownership of the property, or (iii) the person providing the consideration for the property is not traceable.
2	The Bill also specifies certain cases will be exempt from the definition of a benami transactions. These include cases when a property is held by: (i) a member of a Hindu undivided family, and is being held for his or another family member’s benefit, and has been provided for or paid off from sources of income of that family; (ii) a person in a fiduciary capacity; (iii) a person in the name of his spouse or child, and the property has been paid for from the person’s income; and the Bill defines benamidar as the person in whose name the benami property is held or transferred, and a beneficial owner as the person for whose benefit the property is being held by the benamidar.
3	Under the Act, an Authority to acquire benami properties was to be established by the Rules. The Bill seeks to establish four authorities to conduct inquiries or investigations regarding benami transactions: (i) Initiating Officer, (ii) Approving Authority, (iii) Administrator and (iv) Adjudicating Authority.
4	If an Initiating Officer believes that a person is a benamidar, he may issue a notice to that person. The Initiating Officer may hold the property for 90 days from the date of issue of the notice, subject to permission from the Approving Authority. At the end of the notice period, the Initiating Officer may pass an order to continue the holding of the property.
5	If an order is passed to continue holding the property, the Initiating Officer will refer the case to the Adjudicating Authority. The Adjudicating Authority will examine all documents and evidence relating to the matter and then pass an order on whether or not to hold the property as benami.
6	Based on an order to confiscate the benami property, the Administrator will receive and manage the property in a manner and subject to conditions as prescribed.
7	The Bill also seeks to establish an Appellate Tribunal to hear appeals against any orders passed by the Adjudicating Authority. Appeals against orders of the Appellate Tribunal will lie to the high court.
8	Under the Act, the penalty for entering into benami transactions is imprisonment up to three years, or a fine, or both. The Bill seeks to change this penalty to rigorous imprisonment of one year up to seven years, and a fine which may extend to 25% of the fair market value of the benami property.
9	The Bill also specifies the penalty for providing false information to be rigorous imprisonment of six months up to five years, and a fine which may extend to 10% of the fair market value of the benami property.
10	Certain sessions courts would be designated as Special Courts for trying any offences which are punishable under the Bill.