09-05-2025
Tax tribunal upholds Rs52cr as benami in Buldhana co-op society case
Nagpur: In a major boost to income tax department, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) at Delhi has upheld that as much as Rs52 crore lying in various accounts maintained in
is
.The case made headlines in 2021 when the income tax department raided the cooperative society and found funds in 870 accounts to be suspicious.
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The accounts were frozen. Out of these, 300-odd account holders disowned the amount in the accounts to be theirs.
The rest claimed ownership of the IT department, on the basis of its findings, declared funds in the accounts of even those who claimed ownership to be benami. This means the funds go straight to govt exchequer. The persons who claimed ownership of the amounts filed an appeal with the tribunal, which was dismissed a couple of days was found that all the newly opened bank accounts in the society were without Permanent Account Number (PAN). Cash was deposited within days of opening the accounts. The amount in each transaction was kept below Rs2 lakh. Majority of the deposit slips were not signed by account holders, and the denomination of the currency notes deposited with the society was also not mentioned. Moreover, the accounts had scanty details filled up by hand. Some of the accounts did not have the holders' photographs, reads the tribunal's Urban Cooperative Society has a major presence in the region and it is also known as a major lender against gold.
