Benami properties worth Rs 900 crore attached in Rajasthan in 16 months
A total of 201 benami properties including bank accounts worth Rs 921-cr, claimed to be the biggest haul in the country, were attached by the income tax department under Benami Transaction (prohibition) Amendment Act 2016 in Rajasthan till March 31 this year.
“So far, 176 benami properties and 25 bank accounts were attached till March after the amended Benami Transaction (prohibition) Amendment Act came into force in November 2016,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.
He added that notices have been issued in cases related to five benami properties in the current financial year.
He further said, “An important discovery of the department is that many realty developers and companies are using their Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees as benami owners.” As there is restriction in Rajasthan on purchasing land owned by SC/STs by other communities, these realty developers found a way out by using their SC/ST employees as proxies and registering the property in their name, he added.
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