Benami property transactions on I-T radar

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi-The income tax department is working on a ‘property index card’ which features high-value property transactions of the last three years. Tax authorities have also outlined stringent actions against those who deposited their unaccounted old currency in someone else’s bank account.

Income tax officials are believed to have directed property dealers and registration authorities to prepare the list of top property deals that have taken place in the last three years in descending order of valuation, said an I-T official.

“Tackling the benami properties and transaction is one of our key agenda. On the basis of information related to property transaction and bank deposits, we have decided to probe such cases under the newly enforced Benami Transactions Act,” said the official.

The Act enables violators to be prosecuted and sentenced to a rigorous jail term of a maximum seven years. “The benami amount in the bank account deposited post-demonetisation will be confiscated and the violator will also be liable to a fine which extends up to 25% of the fair market value of the benami property,” the official said.