Can I buy a car in my wife's, father's or brother's name if I am not eligible to buy it myself?

A common plan for someone who cannot book a high-value car in their own name is to put it in a relative’s name instead. Two laws in this corpus bear on that: section 114C of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 (as amended to 30 June 2026), which decides who may apply, and the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2017, which deals with property held in one person’s name for another’s benefit.

What does section 114C say about family members?

Section 114C(1)(a) stops a manufacturer or Excise registering authority from accepting an application by an “ineligible person” to book, buy or register a motor vehicle valued above the Fifteenth Schedule threshold, which is seven million rupees. The restriction applies from a date the Federal Government notifies under section 114C(5).

Section 114C(4)(a) defines an eligible person, and its proviso says that in the case of an individual, the eligible person includes his immediate family members. Section 114C(4)(b) defines immediate family members of an individual to include:

• his parents,
• his spouse, and
• his dependent children.

In plain terms, if an individual is eligible, his parents, spouse and dependent children are also treated as eligible. The list does not include brothers, sisters, independent adult children or in-laws.

How does that work for a wife, father or brother?

Name on the application	Eligible through a family link?
Wife	Yes, if her husband (or another individual whose spouse she is) is eligible. She can also be eligible on her own return or statement
Father	Yes, if one of his children is an eligible individual, because parents are in that child’s immediate family
Brother	No. A brother is not an immediate family member under section 114C(4)(b); he must be eligible himself

Note the direction of the proviso. It extends an eligible individual’s status to his family. It does not make an ineligible person eligible because a relative is. If you are ineligible, the question is whether the relative whose name goes on the application is eligible, directly or through someone else’s eligibility.

What does the Benami Act add?

Section 2(8) of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2017 defines a benami transaction to include an arrangement where property is transferred to or held by one person, the consideration is paid by another, and the property is held for the benefit of the person who paid. “Property” in section 2(26) covers movable assets, so a car is included.

The same definition excludes property held by an individual in the name of his spouse, any child, his brother and sister, or a lineal ascendant or descendant, where the consideration is paid out of the individual’s known sources of income.

Section 3 prohibits entering into a benami transaction. Section 4 makes benami property liable to confiscation by the Federal Government. Section 51 sets the offence where a benami transaction is entered into to defeat any law, avoid statutory dues or avoid creditors: rigorous imprisonment of one to seven years and a fine of up to twenty-five percent of the fair market value of the property.

Worked example (illustrative figures)

Imran in Peshawar did not file a return last year and has no sources of investment statement, so he is ineligible under section 114C. He wants a locally manufactured car invoiced at Rs. 8,500,000.

1. In his wife Nadia’s name. Nadia filed her own return and her wealth statement shows sufficient resources. She is eligible in her own right, so her application is not blocked by section 114C. If Imran pays from his own income, the Benami Act exclusion for a spouse applies only if the money comes from his known sources of income.
2. In his brother Faisal’s name. Faisal is not in Imran’s immediate family under section 114C. Faisal can apply only if he is eligible himself. If Imran pays and the car is really for Imran, the brother exclusion in the Benami Act again depends on the money coming from Imran’s known sources of income.

Common mistakes

• Counting siblings as family for section 114C. The Ordinance’s list is parents, spouse and dependent children. The Benami Act’s exclusion list is wider, and the two lists should not be mixed up.
• Assuming the relative’s name settles everything. The Benami Act exclusion turns on the money being from known sources of income, not on the family link alone.
• Ignoring advance tax. Whoever is named as buyer pays section 231B tax at the rate for their own status in the active taxpayers’ list.

What to check in the official text

Read section 114C(4) and (5) of the Ordinance and serial number 1 of the Fifteenth Schedule, then sections 2(8), 3, 4 and 51 of the Benami Act. The Benami Act text in this corpus is the 2017 publication, transcribed from scanned page images, and is not a consolidated edition, so check the official PDF and any later amendments before relying on it. The notification bringing section 114C into force is also outside this corpus.