Changes in benami law welcome

It may have been difficult to prove in the court of law, but it is not uncommon to believe that properties have been acquired, registered and transacted in the name of their drivers, peons or even those who do not exist, by the real owners with the objective of avoiding the scanner of tax authorities. In fact, the benami properties are commonly believed to be one of the biggest parking place for the ill-gotten wealth by the corrupt bureaucrats, politicians, industrialists etc. While such unscrupulous people do not form a majority, their nuisance value breeds further corruption, creating an impression how easy it was to get away with the corrupt practices by those who exploit their positions for their personal goals.

Firm action against this menace was constrained by lack of political will and inadequate laws. Thankfully, the government woke up to this reality and in its larger commitment to curb the black money and corruption, brought in amendments to the benami law which have since been passed by Parliament and notified by the President. Under the new law, there is a provision for rigorous imprisonment of up to seven years along with fine up to 25% of the fair value of properties, while the powers to confiscate the benami properties have been vested with the government with much more clarity on the entire procedure of adjudication and appeal. Surely, such a strict law was required to deal with the menace of parallel economy. There have been cases where an ordinary clerk or a supervisor in a public dealing department was caught owning scores of properties in the name of all kinds of people. The situation was much more grave in the case of corrupt higher-ups. 

No doubt such strict laws are needed to clean up the system. Enough care should be taken to ensure that the changes in the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 are not misused by those in charge of enforcing the law. While clear-cut carve-outs have been provided for in the law, including buying properties in the name of spouse, or blood relations like child, the law should be  on the right side of the right-minded people and severe on those habitual offenders. For starters, these changes in the law are welcome along with other initiatives to curb black money, which have crept into the system so much that many more tough measures would be required to bring about significant changes.