NEW DELHI: The government proposes to make the rules regarding benami property ownership much more stringent than they are currently. As part of efforts to prevent black money being tucked away into convenient domestic hidey holes, it could sharply prune the list of relatives in whose names property can be acquired to spouses and unmarried daughters.The new law is likely to say that property acquired in the name of any other person —brother, sister, father, mother, son —risks being confiscated and would lead to jail time."This government has demonstrated that it is serious about the crackdown on black money," a finance ministry official told ET. "The new law would reflect this spirit."The proposed legislation will complement the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill, 2015, which is aimed at cracking down on black money held overseas. "The contours of the bill are being finalised," said another official. "It is expected to go to cabinet soon.The previous UPA government had introduced a benami Bill in 2011 but that wasn’t passed by parliament. It defined a benami transaction as a deal in which a property is transferred to one person for a consideration paid or provided by another person. That law allowed deals in the names of brothers, sisters and spouses, apart from lineal descendants and ascendants.Property refers to assets of any kind, whether movable or immovable, tangible or intangible, and includes any right or interest in such goods. Any owner failing to provide a proven source of earning that would allow him or her to own an asset could risk it being termed benami.The Narendra Modi government has made the rooting out of black money one of its priorities, following up on a key campaign pledge in the 2014 general election. Finance minister Arun Jaitley said in his February budget that more stringent black money legislation was in the offing.The government could also enhance the jail term from two years as proposed in the previous benami Bill, which lapsed with the dissolution of previous Lok Sabha.A new stringent definition for benami transactions is being considered so that the law meets the government’s objective of tackling black money.Some of the changes being considered are based on the views of the parliamentary standing committee’s report on the 2011 Bill that had been introduced in parliament by former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee , now President of India.The panel, headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party ’s Yashwant Sinha , had asked the government to strengthen the bill to ensure it was effective.The government is keen to introduce the black money bills in the current session as announced in the budget. Sittings will resume after a break on xxx.The legislation will lead to confiscation of benami property and provide a mechanism for this. The Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act was first enacted in 1988 but has not been notified due to some infirmities. Rules under that law were never framed.