TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (10) TMI 2044
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....wner and 49 employees of these colleges as benamidars thereafter attaching the salary bank accounts of these employees up to the value of the alleged "benami" property. The adjudication proceedings in all 49 cases are in respect of such bank accounts. The adjudicating authority by virtue of its order dated 27.03.2018 u/s 26 (3) of the Act confirmed the aforesaid order. A search action by the Income Tax Department commenced on 17.11.2016. During the course of this search, from the office computer of the accountant, details of disbursement of amounts to various Department Heads for further disbursements were found. The statement of the Chairman was recorded during the course of search wherein he stated that salary advance was given to employees of two colleges as salary advance for their personal purposes. This was given only to interested employees, who gave their consent for the same. The employees in their statements also agreed to having received such money. He also said that he would pay tax on the entire amount mentioned in the list of disbursement, as income of the trusts. The trust accordingly honored the Chairman's commitment and paid taxes on income of Rs 8.18 Crores, avail....
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....ng the directions of Income Tax Department 7. The detailed chart which is provided by the learned counsel for the respondent during the course of hearing of the appeal, the facts of which are not denied by the counsel for the respondent, the same is reproduced here below:- S N Tribunal's Reference & Appellant 's Name Employment details Money received for further disbursal Entire money disbursed (as directed by Trusts) On the insistence of Income tax, money collected back and returned back to the Income tax Property held Benami by the IO Bank Balance on 25.01.17 (Date of attachment) comprising past salary savings Post Since Year Salary PM(Rs Date Amount Rs. Date Amount Rs. disbursed to Date of collecting back the money and handing it over to the Income tax Department Amount Rs. 1. PB 15/2018 P Ezhil Pandian Librarian/ Sport Coordinator 2002 98,228 14.11.16 15,00,000 15.11.16 15,00,000 to Chennai Football Association 19.11.16 12,00,000 (balance 3,00,000 were spent in Purchasing Sports items) 15,00,000 15,913 2. PB 24/2018 S. Arivazhagan Professor 1995 131718 14.11.16 3,00,000 14.11.16 3,00,000 to Faculty ....
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....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; (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 bee....
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.... hearing of two appeals. Therefore, the question of any benami property lying with the Appellant did not arise at all. 16. It is not denied by the respondent that the said amount was not ever deposited in the bank, the IO went ahead and issued a Provisional Attachment order under sub-section (3) of section 24 of the Act for provisionally attaching the aforesaid Indian bank account of the Appellant by completely disregarding the facts recorded in the sworn statement of the Appellant and his reply to the show cause notice. 17. The Provisional Attachment Order dated 25/01/2017 reads as under: "The sum of Rs. 15,00,000/- is due from the Benamidhar, thiru. P Ezhilpandiyan on account of Benami transactions (Prohibitions) Amendment Act, 2016. The savings bank account held by the Benamidhar in your branch is SB A/c No.482947133. You are hereby required u/s 24(3) of the Benami Transactions (Prohibitions) Amendment Act, 2016 to pay to provisionally attach any amount due from you to or held by you or................" 18. Before the Adjudicating Authority the statement of his Indian Bank account from November 2016 to March 2017 which completely nullifies the assumption of the I.O that Rs....
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....aw and facts as it relates to a property, which does not exist at all. The Adjudicating Authority has also understood the facts and legal issues involved in the matter. 26. The Adjudicating Authority has passed the order dated 27.3.2018 under sub-section(3) of Section 26 of the Act upholding the order passed by the IO under sub-section (4) of the Act dated 13.03.2017 by concluding that : "The I.O. has shown by sufficient material that the properties involved are benami properties. Consequently the property is declared to be a benami property in the hands of the benamidars and the attachment order is required to be confirmed and is hereby confirmed. The attachment order passed under section 4 of PBPT Act dt. 13.03.2017 is hereby confirmed. The properties are declared to be benami properties. The reference no. 3 of 2017 is allowed. 27. It is not disputed by the learned counsel for the respondent that these two appellants have not received any salary being advance amount. As a matter of fact, it was admitted by them that the money was received by them for further disbursal. There is no denial that the appellants were mere carriers. Even in the reply to the appeals, it was admi....