A benami transaction is a transaction where a property is held by or transferred to a person, but has been provided for or paid by another person. As per the Benami transaction prohibition amendment Act 2016, the benami transaction is when:
(i) the transaction is made in a fictitious name,
(ii) the owner is not aware of denies knowledge of the ownership of the property, or
(iii) the person providing the consideration for the property is not traceable.
Property transactions among family members is not benami transaction. Here, the Act clearly sets the limit of relationship. Only lineal ascendants (father, mother, grandparents and great grandparents) and lineal descendants (children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren) are considered as family members.
