1. Short title, extent and commencement.—2
[(1) This Act may be called the Prohibition of Benami
Property Transactions Act, 1988.]
(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
(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.
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[2. Definitions.— In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(1) “Adjudicating Authority” means the Adjudicating Authority appointed under 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 (10 of 1949), applies and includes any bank or banking institution referred to in section 51
of that Act;
(8) “benami property” means any property which is the subject matter of a benami transaction
and also includes the proceeds from such property;
(9) “benami transaction” means,—
(A) a transaction or an arrangement—
(a) where a property is transferred to, or is held by, a person, and the consideration for
such property has been provided, or paid by, another person; and
(b) the property is held for the immediate or future benefit, direct or indirect, of the
person who has provided the consideration,
except when the property is held by—
(i) a Karta, or a member of a Hindu undivided family, as the case may be, and the property is
held for his benefit or benefit of other members in the family and the consideration for such
property has been provided or paid out of the known sources of the Hindu undivided family;
1. Ins. by Act 43 of 2016, s. 2 (w.e.f. 1-11-2016).
2. Subs. by s. 3, ibid., for sub-section (1) (w.e.f. 1-11-2016).
3. Subs. by s. 4, ibid., for section 2 (w.e.f. 1-11-2016).
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(ii) a person standing in a fiduciary capacity for the benefit of another person towards whom
he stands in such capacity and includes a trustee, executor, partner, director of a company, a
depository or a participant as an agent of a depository under the Depositories Act, 1996
(22 of 1996) and any other person as may be notified by the Central Government for this purpose;
(iii) any person being an individual in the name of his spouse or in the name of any child of
such individual and the consideration for such property has been provided or paid out of the
known sources of the individual;
(iv) any person in the name of his brother or sister or lineal ascendant or descendant, where
the names of brother or sister or lineal ascendant or descendant and the individual appear as jointowners in any document, and the consideration for such property has been provided or paid out of
the known sources of the individual; or
(B) a transaction or an arrangement in respect of a property carried out or made in a fictitious
name; or
(C) a transaction or an arrangement in respect of a property where the owner of the property
is not aware of, or, denies knowledge of, such ownership;
(D) a transaction or an arrangement in respect of a property where the person providing the
consideration is not traceable or is fictitious;
Explanation.—For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that benami transaction shall not
include any transaction involving the allowing of possession of any property to be taken or retained in
part performance of a contract referred to in section 53A of the Transfer of Property
Act, 1882 (4 of 1882), if, under any law for the time being in force,—
(i) consideration for such property has been provided by the person to whom possession of
property has been allowed but the person who has granted possession thereof continues to hold
ownership of such property;
(ii) stamp duty on such transaction or arrangement has been paid; and
(iii) the contract has been registered.
(10) “benamidar” means a person or a fictitious person, as the case may be, in whose name the
benami property is transferred or held and includes a person who lends his name;
(11) “Bench” means a Bench of the Adjudicating Authority or the Appellate Tribunal, as the case
may be;
(12) “beneficial owner” means a person, whether his identity is known or not, for whose benefit
the benami property is held by a benamidar;
(13) “Board” means the Central Board of Direct Taxes constituted under the Central Boards of
Revenue Act, 1963 (54 of 1963);
(14) “director” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (34) of section 2 of the
Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013);
(15) “executor” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (c) of section 2 of the
Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925);
(16) “fair market value”, in relation to a property, means—
(i) the price that the property would ordinarily fetch on sale in the open market on the date of
the transaction; and
(ii) where the price referred to in sub-clause (i) is not ascertainable, such price as may be
determined in accordance with such manner as may be prescribed;
(17) “firm” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in section 4 of the Indian Partnership
Act, 1932 (9 of 1932) and shall include a limited liability partnership as defined in the Limited
Liability Partnership Act, 2008 (6 of 2009);
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(18) “High Court” means—
(i) the High Court within the jurisdiction of which the aggrieved party ordinarily resides or
carries on business or personally works for gain; and
(ii) where the Government is the aggrieved party, the High Court within the jurisdiction of
which the respondent, or in a case where there are more than one respondent, any of the
respondents, ordinarily resides or carries on business or personally works for gain;
(19) “Initiating Officer” means an Assistant Commissioner or a Deputy Commissioner as defined
in clauses (9A) and (19A) respectively of section 2 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961);
(20) “Member” means the Chairperson or the Member of the Adjudicating Authority or the
Appellate Tribunal, as the case may be;
(21) “notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette and the expression
“notified” shall be construed accordingly;
(22) “partner” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in section 4 of the Indian Partnership
Act, 1932 (9 of 1932), and shall include,—
(a) any person who, being a minor, has been admitted to the benefits of partnership; and
(b) a partner of a limited liability partnership formed and registered under the Limited
Liability Partnership Act, 2008 (6 of 2009);
(23) “partnership” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in section 4 of the Indian
Partnership Act, 1932 (9 of 1932), and shall include a limited liability partnership formed and
registered under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 (6 of 2009);
(24) “person” shall include—
(i) an individual;
(ii) a Hindu undivided family;
(iii) a company;
(iv) a firm;
(v) an association of persons or a body of individuals, whether incorporated or not;
(vi) every artificial juridical person, not falling under sub-clauses (i) to (v);
(25) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(26) “property” means assets of any kind, whether movable or immovable, tangible or intangible,
corporeal or incorporeal and includes any right or interest or legal documents or instruments
evidencing title to or interest in the property and where the property is capable of conversion into
some other form, then the property in the converted form and also includes the proceeds from the
property;
(27) “public financial institution” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (72) of
section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013);
(28) “Special Court” means a Court of Session designated as Special Court under sub-section (1)
of section 50;
(29) “transfer” includes sale, purchase or any other form of transfer of right, title, possession or
lien;
(30) “trustee” means the trustee as defined in the section 3 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 (2 of
1882);
(31) words and expressions used herein and not defined in this Act but defined in the Indian
Trusts Act, 1882 (2 of 1882), the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925), the Indian Partnership
Act, 1932 (9 of 1932), the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), the Depositories Act,
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1996 (22 of 1996), the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 (15 of 2003), the Limited
Liability Partnership Act, 2008 (6 of 2009) and the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013), shall have the
same meanings respectively assigned to them in those Acts.]