Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988
2[(1) This Act may be called the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 (45 of 1988).]
(2) It extends to the whole of India 3[x x x x].
(3) The provisions of sections 3, 5 and 8 shall come into force at once, and the remaining provisions of this Act shall be deemed to have come into force on the 19th day of May, 1988.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--
(1) "Adjudicating Authority" means the Adjudicating Authority 2[referred to in] Section 7;
(2) "Administrator" means an Income-tax Officer as defined in Clause (25) of Section 2 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961);
(3) "Appellate Tribunal" means the Appellate Tribunal established under Section 30;
(4) "Approving Authority" means an Additional Commissioner or a Joint Commissioner as defined in Clauses (1C) and (28C) respectively of Section 2 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961);
(5) "attachment" means the prohibition of transfer, conversion, disposition or movement of property, by an order issued under this Act;
(6) "authority" means an authority referred to in sub-section (1) of Section 18;
(7) "banking company" means a company to which the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949
(1) No person shall enter into any benami transaction.
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3[(2)] Whoever enters into any benami transaction shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine or with both.
4[(3) Whoever enters into any benami transaction on and after the date of commencement of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016, shall, notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), be punishable in accordance with the provisions contained in Chapter VII.]
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(1) No suit, claim or action to enforce any right in respect of any property held benami against the person in whose name the property is held or against any other person shall lie by or on behalf of a person claiming to be the real owner of such property.
(2) No defence based on any right in respect of any property held benami, whether against the person in whose name the property is held or against any other person, shall be allowed in any suit, claim or action by or on behalf of a person claiming to be the real owner of such property.
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Any property, which is subject-matter of benami transaction, shall be liable to be confiscated by the Central Government.]
(1) No person, being a benamidar shall re-transfer the benami property held by him to the beneficial owner or any other person acting on his behalf.
(2) Where any property is re-transferred in contravention of the provisions of sub-section (1), the transaction of such property shall be deemed to be null and void.
(3) The provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2) shall not apply to a transfer made in accordance with the provisions of Section 190 of the Finance Act, 2016 (28 of 2016).]
The Central Government shall, by notification, appoint one or more Adjudicating Authorities to exercise jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred by or under this Act.]
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(1) The following shall be the authorities for the purposes of this Act, namely:--
(a) the Initiating Officer;
(b) the Approving Authority;
(c) the Administrator; and
(d) the Adjudicating Authority.
(2) The authorities shall exercise all or any of the powers and perform all or any of the functions conferred on, or, assigned, as the case may be, to it under this Act or in accordance with such rules as may be prescribed.
(1) The authorities shall, for the purposes of this Act, have the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), while trying a suit in respect of the following matters, namely:-
(a) discovery and inspection;
(b) enforcing the attendance of any person, including any official of a banking company or a public financial institution or any other intermediary or reporting entity, and examining him on oath;
(c) compelling the production of books of account and other documents;
(d) issuing commissions;
(e) receiving evidence on affidavits; and
(f) any other matter which may be prescribed.
(2) All the persons summoned under sub-section (1) shall be bound to attend in person or through authorised agents, as any authority under this Act may direct, and shall be bound to state the truth upon any subject respecting which they are exa
The following officers shall assist the authorities in the enforcement of this Act, namely:-
(a) income-tax authorities appointed under sub-section (1) of Section 117 of the Income- tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961);
(b) officers of the Customs and Central Excise Departments;
(c) officers appointed under sub-section (1) of Section 5 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (61 of 1985);
(d) officers of the stock exchange recognised under Section 4 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (42 of 1956);
(e) officers of the Reserve Bank of India constituted under sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934);
(f) police;
(g) officers of enforcement appointed under sub-section (1) of Section 36 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (40 of 1999);
(h) officers of the Securities and Exc
(1) The Initiating Officer or the Approving Authority or the Adjudicating Authority shall have power to require any officer of the Central Government or State Government or a local body or any person or officer who is responsible for registering and maintaining books of account or other documents containing a record of any transaction relating to any property or any other person to furnish any information in relation to any person, point or matter as in his opinion shall be useful for or relevant for the purposes of this Act.
(2) Without prejudice to sub-section (1), every officer or person referred to in sub-section (1) shall furnish such information to any authority under this Act in such form and manner as may be prescribed.
(1) Where any books of account or other documents are produced before the authority in any proceedings under this Act and the authority in this behalf has reason to believe that any of the books of account or other documents are required to be impounded and retained for any inquiry under this Act, it may impound and retain the books of account or other documents for a period not exceeding three months from the date of order of attachment made by the Adjudicating Authority under sub-section (3) of Section 26:
Provided that the period for retention of the books of account or other documents may be extended beyond a period exceeding three months from the date of order of attachment made by the Adjudicating Authority under sub-section (3) of Section 26 where the authority records in writing the reasons for extending the same.
(2) Where the authority impounding and retaining the books of account or other documents, under sub-section (1) is the Initiating Officer, he s
The Initiating Officer, after obtaining prior approval of the Approving Authority, shall have power to conduct or cause to be conducted any inquiry or investigation in respect of any person, place, property, assets, documents, books of account or other documents, in respect of any other relevant matters under this Act.
1[Explanation.-- For the removal of doubts, it is hereby clarified that nothing contained in this section shall apply and shall be deemed to have ever applied where a notice under sub-section (1) of Section 24 has been issued by the Initiating Officer.]
(1) Where the Initiating Officer, on the basis of material in his possession, has reason to believe that any person is a benamidar in respect of a property, he may, after recording reasons in writing, issue a notice to the person to show cause within such time as may be specified in the notice why the property should not be treated as benami property.
(2) Where a notice under sub-section (1) specifies any property as being held by a benamidar referred to in that sub-section, a copy of the notice shall also be issued to the beneficial owner if his identity is known.
(3) Where the Initiating Officer is of the opinion that the person in possession of the property held benami may alienate the property during the period specified in the notice, he may, with the previous approval of the Approving Authority, by order in writing, attach provisionally the property in the manner as may be prescribed, for a period not exceeding ninety days 1[from the last day of the mo
(1) A notice under sub-section (1) of Section 24 may be served on the person named therein either by post or as if it were a summons issued by a Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908).
(2) Any notice referred to in sub-section (1) may be addressed-
(i) in case of an individual, to such individual;
(ii) in the case of a firm, to the managing partner or the manager of the firm;
(iii) in the case of a Hindu undivided family, to Karta or any member of such family;
(iv) in the case of a company, to the principal officer thereof;
(v) in the case of any other association or body of individuals, to the principal officer or any member thereof;
(vi) in the case of any other person (not being an individual), to the person who manages or controls his affairs.
(1) On receipt of a reference under sub-section (5) of Section 24, the Adjudicating Authority shall issue notice, to furnish such documents, particulars or evidence as is considered necessary on a date to be specified therein, on the following persons, namely:-
(a) the person specified as a benamidar therein;
(b) any person referred to as the beneficial owner therein or identified as such;
(c) any interested party, including a banking company;
(d) any person who has made a claim in respect of the property:
Provided that the Adjudicating Authority shall issue notice within a period of thirty days from the date on which a reference has been received:
Provided further that the notice shall provide a period of not less than thirty days to the person to whom the notice is issued to furnish the information sought.
(2) Where the property is held jointly by more than one person, the Adju
(1) Where an order is passed in respect of any property under sub-section (3) of Section 26 holding such property to be a benami property, the Adjudicating Authority shall, after giving an opportunity of being heard to the person concerned, make an order confiscating the property held to be a benami property:
Provided that where an appeal has been filed against the order of the Adjudicating Authority, the confiscation of property shall be made subject to the order passed by the Appellate Tribunal under Section 46:
Provided further that the confiscation of the property shall be made in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed.
(2) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall apply to a property held or acquired by a person from the benamidar for adequate consideration, prior to the issue of notice under sub-section (1) of Section 24 without his having knowledge of the benami transaction.
(3) Where an order of confiscation has been made under sub-section (1)
(1) The Administrator shall have the power to receive and manage the property, in relation to which an order of confiscation under sub-section (1) of Section 27 has been made, in such manner and subject to such conditions, as may be prescribed.
(2) The Central Government may, by order published in the Official Gazette, notify as many of its officers as it thinks fit, to perform the functions of Administrators.
(3) The Administrator shall also take such measures, as the Central Government may direct, to dispose of the property which is vested in the Central Government under sub-section (3) of Section 27, in such manner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.
(1) Where an order of confiscation in respect of a property under sub-section (1) of Section 27, has been made, the Administrator shall proceed to take the possession of the property.
(2) The Administrator shall,-
(a) by notice in writing, order within seven days of the date of the service of notice to any person, who may be in possession of the benami property, to surrender or deliver possession thereof to the Administrator or any other person duly authorised in writing by him in this behalf;
(b) in the event of non-compliance of the order referred to in Clause (a), or if in his opinion, taking over of immediate possession is warranted, for the purpose of forcibly taking over possession, requisition the service of any police officer to assist him and it shall be the duty of the officer to comply with the requisition.
The Central Government shall, by notification, establish an Appellate Tribunal to hear appeals against the orders of 1[any authority] under this Act.
(1) The Appellate Tribunal shall consist of a Chairperson and at least two other Members of which one shall be a Judicial Member and other shall be an Administrative Member.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this Act,-
(a) the jurisdiction of the Appellate Tribunal may be exercised by Benches thereof;
(b) a Bench may be constituted by the Chairperson with two Members as the Chairperson may deem fit;
(c) the Benches of the Appellate Tribunal shall ordinarily sit in the National Capital Territory of Delhi and at such other places as the Central Government may, in consultation with the Chairperson, by notification, specify;
(d) the Central Government shall, by notification, specify the areas in relation to which each Bench of the Appellate Tribunal may exercise its jurisdiction.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), the Chairperson may transfer a Member from one Bench to another Be
(1) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as Chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal unless he is a sitting or retired Judge of a High Court, who has completed not less than five years' of service.
(2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Member unless he-
(a) in the case of a Judicial Member, has been a Member of the Indian Legal Service and has held the post of Additional Secretary or equivalent post in that Service;
(b) in the case of an Administrative Member, has been a Member of the Indian Revenue Service and has held the post of Chief Commissioner of Income tax or equivalent post in that Service.
(3) No sitting Judge of a High Court shall be appointed under this section except after consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court.
(4) The Chairperson or a Member holding a post as such in any other Tribunal, established under any law for the time being in force, in addition to his being the C
(1) The salary and allowances payable to, and the other terms and conditions of service of the Chairperson and other Members shall be such as may be prescribed and shall not be varied to their disadvantage during their tenure.
(2) Any vacancy caused to the office of the Chairperson or any other Member shall be filled up within a period of three months from the date on which such vacancy occurs.
The Chairperson and Members of the Appellate Tribunal shall hold office for a term not exceeding five years from the date on which they enter upon their office, or until they attain the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier and shall not be eligible for reappointment.
(1) The Central Government may, in consultation with the Chief Justice of High Court, remove from office of the Chairperson or any Member, who-
(a) has been adjudged as an insolvent; or
(b) has been convicted of an offence which, in the opinion of the Central Government involves moral turpitude; or
(c) has become physically or mentally incapable; or
(d) has acquired such financial or other interest as is likely to affect prejudicially his functions; or
(e) has so abused his position as to render his continuance in office prejudicial to the public interest.
(2) The Chairperson or Judicial Member shall not be removed from his office except by an order made by the Central Government after an inquiry made by Chief Justice of the High Court in which the Chairperson or Judicial Member has been informed of the charges against him and given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in respect of t
No act or proceeding of the Appellate Tribunal shall be invalid merely by reason of-
(a) any vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of the Tribunal; or
(b) any defect in the appointment of a person acting as a Member of the Tribunal; or
(c) any irregularity in the procedure of the Tribunal not affecting the merits of the case.
The Chairperson or any other Member may, by notice in writing under his hand addressed to the Central Government, resign his office:
Provided that the Chairperson or any other Member shall, unless he is permitted by the Central Government to relinquish his office sooner, continue to hold office until the expiry of three months from the date of receipt of the notice or until a person duly appointed as his successor enters upon his office or until the expiry of his term of office, whichever is earlier.
(1) In the event of the occurrence of any vacancy in the office of the Chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal by reason of his death, resignation or otherwise, the senior-most Member shall act as the Chairperson until the date on which a new Chairperson, appointed in accordance with the provisions of this Act to fill such vacancy, enters upon his office.
(2) When the Chairperson is unable to discharge his functions owing to absence, illness or any other cause, the senior-most Member shall discharge the functions of the Chairperson until the date on which the Chairperson resumes his duties.
(1) The Central Government shall provide the Appellate Tribunal with such officers and employees as it may thinks fit.
(2) The officers and employees of the Appellate Tribunal shall discharge their functions under the general superintendence of the Chairperson.
(3) The salaries and allowances and other conditions of service of the officers and employees of the Appellate Tribunal shall be such, as may be prescribed.
(1) The Appellate Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure laid down by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), but shall be guided by the principles of natural justice and, subject to the other provisions of this Act, the Appellate Tribunal shall have powers to regulate its own procedure.
(2) The Appellate Tribunal shall, for the purposes of discharging its functions under this Act, have the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) while trying a suit, in respect of the following matters, namely:-
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;
(b) requiring the discovery and production of documents;
(c) receiving evidence on affidavits;
(d) subject to the provisions of Sections 123 and 124 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872), requisitioning any public record or document or copy of such record or
Where any Benches are constituted, the Chairperson may, from time to time, by notification, make provision as to the distribution of the business of the Appellate Tribunal amongst the Benches and also provide for the matters which may be dealt with by each Bench.
On the application of any of the parties and notice to the parties, and after hearing them, or on his own motion without any notice, the Chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal may transfer any case pending before one Bench, for disposal, to any other Bench.
If the Members of a Bench consisting of two Members differ in opinion on any point, they shall state the point or points on which they differ, and make a reference to the Chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal who shall either hear the point or points himself or refer the case for hearing on the point or points by one or more of the other Members and the point or points shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority of the Members of the Appellate Tribunal who have heard the case, including those who first heard it.
The Chairperson, Members and other officers and employees of the Appellate Tribunal, the Adjudicating Authority, Approving Authority, Initiating Officer, Administrator and the officers subordinate to all of them shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
No Civil Court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any suit or proceeding in respect of any matter which any of the authorities, an Adjudicating Authority or the Appellate Tribunal is empowered by or under this Act to determine, and no injunction shall be granted by any court or other forum in respect of any action taken or to be taken in pursuance of any power conferred by or under this Act.
(1) Any person, including the Initiating Officer, aggrieved by an order of the Adjudicating Authority may prefer an appeal in such form and along with such fees, as may be prescribed, to the Appellate Tribunal against the order passed by the Adjudicating Authority under sub-section (3) of Section 26, within a period of forty-five days from the date 1[on which such order is received by the Initiating Officer or received by such person].
2[(1-A) Any person aggrieved by an order passed by the authority under Section 54-A may prefer an appeal in such form along with such fees, as may be prescribed, to the Appellate Tribunal against the said order within a period of forty-five days from the date 3[on which such order is received by such person].]
(2) The Appellate Tribunal may entertain any appeal after the said period of forty-five days, if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented, by sufficient cause, from filing the appeal in
1[(1) The Appellate Tribunal or any authority may, in order to rectify any mistake apparent on the face of the record, amend any order passed by it under the provisions of this Act, within a period of one year from the end of the month in which such order was passed.]
(2) No amendment shall be made under sub-section (1), if the amendment is likely to affect any person prejudicially, unless he has been given notice of intention to do so and has been given an opportunity of being heard.
(1) 1[A person, including the Initiating Officer, who is a party to any proceedings before] Appellate Tribunal under this Act may either appear in person or take the assistance of an authorised representative of his choice to present his case before the Appellate Tribunal.
(2) The Central Government may authorise one or more of its officers to act as presenting officers on its behalf, and every person so authorised may present the case with respect to any appeal before the Appellate Tribunal.
Explanation.- For the purposes of this section, "authorised representative" 2[in relation to --
(i) the Initiating Officer, means a person authorised by the Central Government;
(ii) any other party to the proceedings, means a person authorised by the party] in writing to appear on his behalf, being--
(i) a person related to 3[the party] in any manner, or a person regularly employed by 4[the party]; or
(ii) any
(1) Any party aggrieved by any decision or order of the Appellate Tribunal may file an appeal to the High Court within a period of sixty days from the date of communication of the decision or order of the Appellate Tribunal to him on any question of law arising out of such order.
(2) The High Court may entertain any appeal after the said period of sixty days, if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal within the period specified in sub-section (1).
(3) Where the High Court is satisfied that a substantial question of law is involved in any case, it shall formulate that question.
(4) The appeal shall be heard only on the question so formulated, and the respondents shall, at the hearing of the appeal, be allowed to argue that the case does not involve such question.
(5) Nothing in this sub-section shall be deemed to take away or abridge the power of the court to hear, for reasons to be recorded, the appeal
(1) The Central Government, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court, shall, for trial of an offence punishable under this Act, by notification, designate one or more Courts of Session as Special Court or Special Courts for such area or areas or for such case or class or group of cases as may be specified in the notification.
(2) While trying an offence under this Act, a Special Court shall also try an offence other than an offence referred to in sub-section (1), with which the accused may, under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), be charged at the same trial.
(3) The Special Court shall not take cognizance of any offence punishable under this Act except upon a complaint in writing made by-
(i) the authority; or
(ii) any officer of the Central Government or State Government authorised in writing by that Government by a general or special order made in this behalf.
(4) Every trial under this secti
(1) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), shall apply to the proceedings before a Special Court and the persons conducting the prosecution before the Special Court, shall be deemed to be Public Prosecutors:
Provided that the Central Government may also appoint for any case or class or group of cases, a Special Public Prosecutor.
(2) A person shall not be qualified to be appointed as a Public Prosecutor or a Special Public Prosecutor under this section unless, the Public Prosecutor has been in practice as an advocate for not less than seven years, and the Special Public Prosecutor has been in practice as an advocate for not less than ten years in any Court.
(3) Every person appointed as a Public Prosecutor or a Special Public Prosecutor under this section shall be deemed to be a Public Prosecutor within the meaning of Clause (u) of Section 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1
The High Court may exercise, so far as may be applicable, all the powers conferred by Chapter XXIX or Chapter XXX of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), on a High Court, as if a Special Court within the local limits of the jurisdiction of the High Court were a Court of Session trying cases within the local limits of the jurisdiction of the High Court.
(1) Where any person enters into a benami transaction in order to defeat the provisions of any law or to avoid payment of statutory dues or to avoid payment to creditors, the beneficial owner, benamidar and any other person who abets or induces any person to enter into the benami transaction, shall be guilty of the offence of benami transaction.
(2) whoever is found guilty of the offence of benami transaction referred to in sub-section (1) shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year, but which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to twenty-five per cent. of the fair market value of the property.
Any person who is required to furnish information under this Act knowingly gives false information to any authority or furnishes any false document in any proceeding under this Act, shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to ten per cent. of the fair market value of the property.
(1) Any person who fails to,--
(i) comply with summons issued under sub-section (1) of Section 19; or
(ii) furnish information as required under Section 21, shall be liable to pay penalty of twenty-five thousand rupees for each such failure.
(2) The penalty under sub-section (1) shall be imposed by the authority who had issued the summons or called for the information.
(3) No order under sub-section (2) shall be passed by the authority unless the person on whom the penalty is to be imposed has been given an opportunity of being heard:
Provided that no penalty shall be imposed if, such person proves that there were good and sufficient reasons which prevented him from complying with the summons or furnishing information.]
The entries in the records or other documents in the custody of an authority shall be admitted in evidence in any proceedings for the prosecution of any person for an offence under Section 3 or this Chapter, as the case may be, and all such entries may be proved either by -
(i) the production of the records or other documents in the custody of the authority containing such entries; or
(ii) the production of a copy of the entries certified by the authority having custody of the records or other documents under its signature stating that it is a true copy of the original entries and that such original entries are contained in the records or other documents in its custody.]
No prosecution shall be instituted against any person in respect of any offence under Sections 3, 53 or Section 54 without the previous sanction of the 1[competent authority].
2[Explanation.-- For the purposes of this section, "competent authority" means a Commissioner, a Director, a Principal Commissioner of Income-tax or a Principal Director of Income-tax as defined in clause (16), clause (21), clause (34-B) and clause (34-C), respectively, of Section 2 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961)]
(1) Sections 81, 82 and 94 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 (2 of 1882), Section 66 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) and Section 281A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), are hereby repealed.
(2) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that nothing in sub-section (1) shall affect the continued operation of Section 281A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) in the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Transfer of the Property Act, 1882 (4 of 1882) or any other law for the time being in force, where, after the issue of a notice under Section 24, any property referred to in the said notice is transferred by any mode whatsoever, the transfer shall, for the purposes of the proceedings under this Act, be ignored and if the property is subsequently confiscated by the Central Government under Section 27, then, the transfer of the property shall be deemed to be null and void.
(1) The Central Government may, by notification, exempt any property relating to charitable or religious trusts from the operation of this Act.
(2) Every notification issued under sub-section (1) shall be laid before each House of Parliament.
(1) The Central Government may, from time to time, issue such orders, instructions or directions to the authorities or require any person to furnish information as it may deem fit for the proper administration of this Act and such authorities and all other persons employed in execution of this Act shall observe and follow the orders, instructions and directions of the Central Government.
(2) In issuing the directions or orders referred to in sub-section (1), the Central Government may have regard to anyone or more of the following criteria, namely:-
(a) territorial area;
(b) classes of persons;
(c) classes of cases; and
(d) any other criterion that may be specified by the Central Government in this behalf.
(3) No orders, instructions or directions under sub-section (1) shall be issued so as to-
(a) require any authority to decide a particular case in a particular manner; or
The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and not, save as hereinafter expressly provided, in derogation of any other law for the time being in force.
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), an offence under this Act shall be non-cognizable.
(1) Where a person committing contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or of any rule, direction or order made thereunder is a company, every person who, at the time the contravention was committed, was in charge of, and was responsible to, the company, for the conduct of the business of the company as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the contravention and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(2) Nothing contained in sub-section (1), shall render any person liable to punishment if he proves that the contravention took place without his knowledge.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where a contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or of any rule, direction or order made thereunder has been committed by a company and it is proved that the contravention has taken place with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the part of any director, manager, secreta
No notice, summons, order, document or other proceeding, furnished or made or issued or taken or purported to have been furnished or made or issued or taken in pursuance of any of the provisions of this Act shall be invalid, or shall be deemed to be invalid merely by reason of any mistake, defect or omission in the notice, summons, order, document or other proceeding if the notice, summons, order, document or other proceeding is in substance and effect in conformity with or according to the intent and purpose of this Act.
No prosecution, suit or other proceeding shall lie against the Government or any officer of the Government or the Appellate Tribunal or the Adjudicating Authority established under this Act, for anything done or intended to be done in good faith under this Act.
(1) Every suit or proceeding in respect of a benami transaction pending in any Court (other than a High Court) or Tribunal or before any forum on the date of the commencement of this Act shall stand transferred to the Adjudicating Authority or the Appellate Tribunal, as the case may be, having jurisdiction in the matter.
(2) Where any suit, or other proceeding stands transferred to the Adjudicating Authority or the Appellate Tribunal under sub-section (1),-
(a) the Court, Tribunal or other forum shall, as soon as may be, after the transfer, forward the records of the suit, or other proceeding to the Adjudicating Authority or the Appellate Tribunal, as the case may be;
(b) the Adjudicating Authority may, on receipt of the records, proceed to deal with the suit, or other proceeding, so far as may be, in the same manner as in the case of a reference made under sub-section (5) of Section 24, from the stage which was reached before the transfer
(1) Where a person dies during the course of any proceeding under this Act, any proceeding taken against the deceased before his death shall be deemed to have been taken against the legal representative and may be continued against the legal representative from the stage at which it stood on the date of the death of the deceased.
(2) Any proceeding which could have been taken against the deceased if he had survived may be taken against the legal representative and all the provisions of this Act, except sub-section (2) of Section 3 and the provisions of Chapter VII, shall apply accordingly.
(3) Where any property of a person has been held benami under sub-section (3) of Section 26, then, it shall be lawful for the legal representative of the person to prefer an appeal to the Appellate Tribunal, in place of the person and the provisions of Section 46 shall, so far as may be, apply, or continue to apply, to the appeal.
The provisions of this Act shall have effect, notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force.
(1) The Central Government may, by notification, make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:-
(a) manner of ascertaining the fair market value under Clause 16 of Section 2;
(b) 1[x x x x]
(c) 2[x x x x]
(d) the powers and functions of the authorities under sub-section (2) of Section 18;
(e) other powers of the authorities under Clause (f) of sub-section (1) of Section 19
(f) the form and manner of furnishing any information to the authority under sub-section (2) of Section 21;
(g) the manner of provisional attachment of property under sub-section (3) of Section 24;
(h) the procedure for confiscation of benami property under the second proviso to sub
Every rule made and notification issued under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made or issued, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rules or notifications, as the case may be, both Houses agree that the rules or notifications, as the case may be, should not be made or issued, the rule or notification, as the case may be, shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule or notification, as the case may be.
(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Central Government may, by order, published in the Official Gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as may appear to be necessary for removing the difficulty.
(2) No order shall be made under this section after the expiry of two years from the commencement of this Act.
(3) Every order made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament.
The Central Government may, by notification, provide that until the Adjudicating Authorities are appointed and the Appellate Tribunal is established under this Act, the Adjudicating Authority appointed under sub-section (1) of Section 6 of the Money-Laundering Act, 2002 (15 of 2003) and the Appellate Tribunal established under Section 25 of that Act may discharge the functions of the Adjudicating Authority and Appellate Tribunal, respectively, under this Act 1[for such period and in respect of such cases or class of cases as may be specified in the said notification].]
1[(1) The Benami Transactions (Prohibition of the Right to Recover Property) Ordinance, 1988 (Ordinance 2 of 1988), is hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act.]
MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE |
(Legislative Department) |
New Delhi, the 31st March, 2023 / Chaitra 10, 1945 (Saka) |
| The following Act of Parliament received the assent of the President on the 31st March, 2023 and is hereby published for general information:-- |
THE FINANCE ACT, 2023 |
No. 8 OF 2023 |
[31st March, 2023.] |
| An Act to give effect to the financial proposals of the Central Government for the financial year 2023-2024. BE it enacted by Parliament in the Seventy-fourth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-- |
CHAPTER I |
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