Extending liability

New PMLA rules will help curb black money

The government’s notification last week bringing practising chartered accountants (CAs), company secretaries (CSes), and cost and works accountants (CWAs) within the purview of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, for select activities done on behalf of clients can be viewed as a practical move to check black money-related transactions. The notification covers buying and selling immovable property; managing client money, securities, and other assets; managing bank, savings and securities accounts; organising contributions for creating, operating, and managing companies, and creating and managing limited-liability partnerships or trusts; and buying or selling business entities. CAs, CSes, and CWAs have been