Law in its current form may not be able to Check Benami Deals
Under the new Benami law, properties purchased in the name of spouse or siblings or any lineal ascendant or descendant could be allowed under benami deals and would not be subject to penal provisions. Home minister P Chidambaram, however, is learnt to have opposed the same, while favoring the inclusion of spouse. He said at the Cabinet meeting on Thursday that the law in its current form may not be able to check benami deals.
The proposed legislation, however, found strong support from finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and HRD minister Kapil Sibal. According to the government, the bill contains elaborate provisions dealing with the definition of benami transaction and property, as also prohibited benami transactions.
“Most benami transactions are where a person acquires property in the name of a brother or sister or any lineal ascendant or descendant. If they are excluded, then for all practical purposes, most benami transactions will stand excluded,” sources quoted Chidambaram as saying.
A day after the new law making ‘benami’ properties liable for confiscation, a section within the government on Friday expressed reservations over certain provisions, stating that they remained “vague” and therefore would not serve the actual purpose.Officials who dealt with cases of ‘benami’ properties in the past said most such properties were actually bought in the name of brothers or sisters or any lineal ascendant or descendant and therefore, if the new law spared them, majority ‘benami’ transactions would be excluded from ‘confiscation’.
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