The Federal Appellate Tribunal’s Special Bench in Karachi has ruled that the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2017 cannot be applied to properties created through transactions executed before the law came into effect or to assets declared under the 2019 Amnesty Scheme, Business Recorder reported.
In a detailed order against the Benami Adjudication Authority Karachi, the two-member bench held that “a benami property can only be confiscated if it is the subject of a benami transaction after the enactment of the BTPA 2017.” The tribunal stated that the Act does not apply retrospectively to transactions completed before its promulgation.
The case pertained to alleged benami property transactions involving a Karachi-based developer and builder. The tribunal observed that there was “no legal mechanism or procedure” for confiscating properties held benami under transactions that took place before the law was enacted.
It further declared that the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2017 also does not apply to properties disclosed under the Asset Declaration Ordinance 2019. “There is no need to evaluate facts and evidence in such cases, as the properties in question fall outside the purview of the BTPA 2017,” the order stated.
The bench concluded that the Benami Adjudication Authority and Initiating Officer “exceeded their jurisdiction by applying the law retrospectively,” and held that the confiscation orders suffered from fundamental legal lacunas. It added that vested rights had accrued to the beneficial owners of such properties in accordance with their civil entitlements.
Consequently, the tribunal set aside the adjudication and attachment orders, ruling that the proceedings before the Benami Adjudication Authority were “not sustainable under law.”
