Income Tax Department attaches benami properties worth Rs 43 billion, says report

The Income Tax Department has attached over 1,500 unaccounted properties worth Rs 43 billion in the last one and half years, reported Business Standard. The large scale attachment comes on the back of the introduction of revised benami legislation.

According to the report, Mumbai and Jaipur, which saw attachment of 200 properties came first in the list while Patna came last with 30 attachments.

“The I-T department has worked swiftly in identifying benami transactions since the enactment of the revised legislation. Over 1,500 properties have been attached so far. Many are on the radar. Search and surveys are on involving gold dealers, bankers, hawala operators, senior government officials, and politicians, etc,” an official was quoted as saying in the report.

According to the report, the enormity of such cases has now prompted ‘the department to fast-track setting up of a dedicated adjudicating authority under the Benami Property Transactions Act for swifter passing of orders.’