Benami Transactions Act Not to Apply on Past Transactions, Amnesty Scheme: FAT
The Federal Appellate Tribunal (FAT), Special Bench Karachi ruled that the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2017 (BTPA) cannot be applied to property deals made before 2017 or those declared under the 2019 Amnesty Scheme. The tribunal stated that the law does not allow confiscation of properties from past transactions since such deals were not illegal before the Act. It also said that the Benami Adjudicating Authority acted beyond its powers by applying the law retrospectively. As a result, the confiscation and attachment orders issued earlier have been set aside.
