I-T dept attaches Rs 100 cr land over suspected benami deal

Hyderabad: The Income Tax Department's Benami Prohibition Unit has provisionally attached 2.2 acres of prime land in Narsingi village, Rangareddy district, valued at approximately Rs 100 crore, after identifying it as alleged benami property held in the name of Gia Global Consultants Pvt Ltd.According to the provisional attachment order, Gia Global purchased the land through a sale deed Oct 16, 2023, for a stated consideration of Rs 8.5 crore, in addition to stamp duty and registration charges amounting to Rs 64 lakh. However, the department found that the company had a paid-up capital of only Rs 10 lakh, reported nil income, and lacked any banking trail to substantiate the transaction.The order further noted that although the sale deed mentioned payment via cheque from a State Bank of India account, verification revealed no corresponding high-value debit. Instead, total debits in the account during the relevant period amounted to only about Rs 9.1 lakh.Incorporated on Aug 11, 2023, Gia Global opened its bank account on Oct 12, 2023—just days before the land purchase. The department concluded that the company lacked both the financial capacity and creditworthiness to undertake such a transaction.In sworn statements recorded on Feb 18 and 19 2026, Gia Global director Koneru Murali Krishna admitted that the sale consideration had not been paid by the company. Similarly, Pajjuri Karunakar, representing the vendor Industrial Oil Purification Pvt Ltd, stated on March 6, 2026 that no consideration had been received.Based on these findings, the department concluded that although the sale deed recorded payment, the purchaser had not funded the transaction. Instead, it held that the funds were provided by an unidentified, fictitious, or untraceable third party for their own benefit.The transaction was classified as benami under Section 2(9)(D) of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988. Gia Global was identified as the prima facie ‘benamidar', holding the land on behalf of an undisclosed beneficial owner.The order also observed that while the land was registered for Rs 8.5 crore, its estimated market value stood at around Rs 100 crore, based on govt auction rates for comparable plots in the area.A show-cause notice was issued to Gia Global on April 2, 2026, and the provisional attachment order was passed on April 23, 2026. The department stated that the attachment was necessary to prevent any sale, transfer, or alienation of the property while proceedings under the PBPT Act remain pending.Additionally, the order referenced the vendor's litigation history, noting that Industrial Oil Purification Pvt Ltd had previously been fined Rs 5 lakh by the Telangana high court in connection with the illegal alteration of land records in the same area.