Tax sleuths unearth 400 benami deals; Rs 600-cr property attached

Last week, the I-T dept set up 24 dedicated benami prohibition units across the country

The income tax department on Wednesday said it had identified over 400 benami transactions and attached properties worth Rs 600 crore in about 240 cases.

Keen to implement the new Benami Act to ensure “visible outcomes on the ground”, the tax department last week set up 24 dedicated benami prohibition units across the country.

The department started initiating actions under the new Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016, from November 1 last year. The law provides for a maximum punishment of seven years in jail and a fine.

Benami property includes movable or immovable, tangible or intangible, corporeal or incorporeal