AI Drafter 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (10) TMI 2044
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....s held the chairman to be the beneficial owner 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 pai....
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....er to the Income Tax Department. The appellant was merely a carrier of the said amount who following 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 spen....
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....), 2(9) and 2(10) of the Benami Act is read as under: 2(5) "attachment "means the prohibition of transfer, conversion, disposition or movement of property, by an order issued under this Act; 2(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; (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 Ac....
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.... The Appellant's role in this case was simply that of a Carrier-collecting sum of Rs. 15 Lakhs from the Trust and handing it over to Chennai Football Association. Other than this, no cash at all had been received by the Appellant. The said factual position is not denied by the respondent in its reply or even during the course of 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 require....
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....ws that Thiru Babu Manoharan has forced his employees to distribute, deposit and retain his own money in demonetized currency in the guise of loan received, which has to be repaid after some time in new currency as per his convenience." 25. On the face of record, the order passed by the IO under sub-section (4) of section 24 of the Act dated 13-03-2017 is contrary to law 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....