The finance ministry has approached the law ministry to seek its opinion on the Supreme Court?s order setting up a special investigative team (SIT) to probe black money. It would seek a review of the apex court order by a larger bench after getting the legal opinion, an official in the finance ministry said.

Ever since the apex court decided to constitute the team, finance ministry officials have been discussing the need to have another probe agency when a committee headed by the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes is looking into the matter.

The official said the ministry is talking to the law ministry on a possible review of the order. ?We may file a review petition based on the legal opinion. But a final decision has not been taken yet,? the official said.

The official pointed to problems with implementing the SIT order, pointing out that no time period has been outlined for the SIT. Besides, there needs to be more clarity on whether the SIT will probe cases in which investigations have already commenced and are pending, or which are yet to be initiated, he added.

The Supreme Court last week criticised the government for its alleged failure to take the necessary steps to bring back huge amounts of illicit funds hidden abroad and formed an SIT headed by a former SC judge BP Jeevan Reddy to probe into the matter.

The SIT will have full powers to make ?cold inquiries and cold investigations in India and abroad? and will have the cooperation of all the government agencies, the court had said. It will file its first status report in the third week of August, the order had said.

The SC order came in response to a petition from lawyer Ram Jethmalani which said the government had done nothing to bring back illicit funds hidden abroad, and pegged its size at $1.2 trillion.

The government in May constituted a committee headed by the CBDT chairman for strengthening the law to curb generation of black money and examine its existing legal and administrative framework.

The panel is also looking into declaring wealth generated illegally as national asset, enacting and amending laws to confiscate and recover such assets and providing for exemplary punishment against its perpetrators.

The committee would submit its report in six months.