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LS passes Benami Transactions Bill
NEW DELHI: Adding teeth to the government’ s crackdown on black money, Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Benami Transactions Amendment Bill.
NEW DELHI: Adding teeth to the government’ s crackdown on black money, Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Benami Transactions Amendment Bill.
Among the key changes incorporated in the new Bill include a case for exemption for “genuine religious trusts” outside the purview of the legislation.
Moving the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill 2015, finance minister Arun Jaitley said: “This is predominantly an anti-black money measure. A lot of people who have unaccounted money buy immovable property in the name of a fictitious person or a “benami” person. These transactions have to be discouraged.”
The bill marks a continuation of the government’s efforts to curb black money and provides for confiscation of assets held in the name of another person or under a fictitious name to avoid taxation and to conceal illegally obtained wealth. The bill provides for a fine of up to 25% of the fair value of the asset and imprisonment of up to seven years, unlike an earlier lapsed version of the bill, which stipulated either a fine or imprisonment.
