AURANGABAD: Agencies including the income-tax department have started collected details of benami properties in Marathwada region, as a prelude to a crackdown on black money.
"The process of data mining is on and there will be an all-out drive against benami properties across the country from January next year," a senior IT officer said on Monday.
A senior IT officer said the focus shifted on benami properties soon after the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 came into force on November 1.
Sources, however, said that the act is being called as the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions (Prohibition) Act 1988.
A primary analysis by tax sleuths has indicated that there are benami properties worth at least a few thousand crores of rupees in Marathwada alone.
Sources said the details of shell companies that had drivers and clerks as directors are also being collected. "Documents of alleged illegal transactions, including transfer of prime properties in the name of such people, who barely earn Rs 10, 000 a month, have also been detected."
To make maximum of the newly-introduced act, the tax sleuths are using online tools for data mining at a large scale. "Data is being compiled for analysis, so that tax evaders don't get a chance to escape," said an income tax officer.
The tax sleuths even cited PM Narendra Modi's public address in Goa on Sunday, during which he specifically said that those owning banami properties will not be spared.
"All out efforts are being made to zero in on those who indulge in benami transactions, especially realtors, industrialists and politicians.
The I-T sleuths said that the list of people who reportedly own benami properties include a large number of people with white collar jobs such as doctors and owners of educational institutions.
"There are reports of some religious trusts also owning benami properties. It will be the government's discretion to exempt them," said the officer.
To ensure that the properties scanned by them are benami, details of the owners including their sources of income and background are being thoroughly scanned.
A senior officer told TOI that the vigilance cells of different agencies working under the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) are maintaining a close coordination with the offices of district registrars and land records, so that no evader escapes.
Another senior I-T officer said the original Benami Transactions Act, 1988 was amended to make the existing law more stringent and assign more powers to the agencies probing such cases.
"The amended law has not only increased the imprisonment for the convicts for up to seven years, but also has provisions for hefty fines for those indulging in benami transactions," the offcer added.
As per the amended act, benami properties are liable for confiscation and there will be no compensation from the government.
SOURCE: ETRealty
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