Civil

Cabinet approves establishment of Appellate Tribunal for speedy disposal of Benami Transaction matters

24.10.2018

The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister has approved the appointment of Adjudicating Authority and establishment of Appellate Tribunal under Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act (PBPT), 1988. The decision has been taken for effective and better administration of cases referred to the Adjudicating Authority and speedy disposal of appeals filed against the order of the Adjudicating Authority before the Appellate Tribunal. The Adjudicating Authority is appointed for first stage review of administrative action under the PBPT Act. Further, establishment of the Appellate Tribunal would provide an appellate mechanism for the order passed by the Adjudicating Authority under the PBPT Act. The transactions made in a fictitious name, or the owner is not aware of the ownership of the property, or the person paying for the property is not traceable are termed as Benami transaction.

In the year, 2015, The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015 was introduced in Lok Sabha. Though the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 has been on the statute book, the same could not be made operational because of certain inherent defects. With a view to providing effective regime for prohibition of benami transactions, the said Act was amended through the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amended Act, 2016. The amended law empowers the specified authorities to provisionally attach benami properties which can eventually be confiscated. Besides, the Act provides for confiscating benami properties. The rules and all the provisions of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act came into force on November 1, 2016.

Adjudicating Authority would be appointed along with the three additional Benches. The Adjudicating Authority and Appellate Tribunal shall be based in the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD). Benches of Adjudicating Authority may sit in Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, and the necessary notification in this regard shall be issued after making consultation with the Chairperson of the proposed Adjudicating Authority. It’s a positive step towards speedy settlement of benami transaction cases.

Tags : Tribunal Establishment Approval

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