Wife Can Acquire Property in the name of their Husband
Acquiring property in the name of the husband by his wife would be Benami no more. The government to amend the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act
The government plans to amend the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act. Under the existing law, the law defines a benami transaction as a deal in which a property is transferred to one person while the consideration is paid or provided by another person. The property acquired in the name of the husband by his wife from undisclosed income is considered benami. Property means property of any kind, whether movable or immovable, tangible or intangible, and includes any right or interest in such property.
The government plans to amend the sections that deal with transactions carried out in the name of family members, said a government official privy to the proposed amendments in the Act. Under new law, women will be able to acquire assets in the name of their husband without running the risk of the property being declared benami.
The government is in the process of amending the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act, which will give it the power to confiscate any property that is declared benami. The new law will set up an authority and empower it to confiscate an asset deemed to be benami if the owner fails to provide proven source of earning. But assets of family members declared benami will not be confiscated. Such a property, however, will remain benami and cannot be claimed as a genuine purchase later by the person who holds it in his name.
Experts say the provisions relating to family members will defy the basic intent of making the law stricter. All benami transactions should be treated on par, whether involving the family members or not, said Srinivas Kotni, partner at Delhi based law firm Corporate Lexport. “Benami transactions are normally entered into to circumvent some law or the other, whether tax or anticorruption laws. Therefore, all such transactions must be uniformly dealt with.”
The draft of the new law has been circulated to stakeholders for their comments after which it would go to the law ministry for vetting and subsequently to cabinet for its approval. The Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act was enacted in 1988, but it has not been notified so far. Facing an outcry over black, or untaxed, money, the government is now under pressure to expedite the new legislation.
Amending Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act, Benami Transaction, Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act, Benami Transaction India, Delhi NCR
[...] Benami transaction is referred to those deals which are undertaken by unscrupulous people in the name of fictitious persons to park unaccounted funds. [...]