[2. Definitions.— In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(1) “Adjudicating Authority” means the Adjudicating Authority 5[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 (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
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. The words “except the State of Jammu and Kashmir” omitted by Act 34 of 2019, s. 95 and the Fifth Schedule
(w.e.f. 31-10- 2019).
4. Subs. by Act 43 of 2016, s. 4, for section 2 (w.e.f. 1-11-2016).
5. Subs. by Act 13 of 2021, s. 154, for “appointed under” (w.e.f. 1-7-2021).
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property has been provided or paid out of the known sources of the Hindu undivided family;
(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 joint-
owners 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; 1***
(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; 2[and]
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[(iii) the High Court within the jurisdiction of which the office of the Initiating Officer is
located,—
(a) where the aggrieved party does not ordinarily reside or carry on business or personally
work for gain in the jurisdiction of any High Court;
(b) where the Government is the aggrieved party and any of the respondents do not
ordinarily reside or carry on business or personally work for gain in the jurisdiction of any
High Court;]
(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
1. The word “and” omitted by Act 8 of 2023, s. 171 (w.e.f. 1-4-2023).
2. Ins. by s. 171, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-4-2023).
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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, 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.]
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[CHAPTER II
PROHIBITION OF BENAMI TRANSACTIONS]
