Just In: India’s GST Council to Mull Over Crypto Tax in June Meet

The council for Goods and Service Tax (GST) in India will discuss digital asset taxation as part of its next meeting this month (June)
According to CNBC-TV18 sources, this meeting will take place in the second half of June
Its agenda will include bringing virtual, digital, and crypto assets in India under the GST’s ambit
It had earlier been reported that the council is considering imposing a 28% GST on digital assets
This would bring the asset class at par with lottery, casinos, race courses, and betting
Moreover, the govt had already been mulling over imposing a reverse charge GST on customers using foreign crypto platforms
The GST would be an addition to the high tax regime on cryptocurrencies that investors are already subjected to in India
The country’s Finance Ministry in April had imposed a 30% tax on any gains made through virtual assets
However, the scope of this regime had earlier been unclear. Hence, NFT taxation guidelines are also likely to be released separately by the Indian government soon
Moreover, it has rolled in a 1% tax-deductible at source (TDS) on all cryptocurrency transactions
The TDS is meant to track transactions and will be returned to investors at the end of every fiscal year. However, the loss of liquid capital has led to many Indian traders exiting the industry
Consecutively, many crypto exchanges in India have seen falling volumes and user bases
These taxes have been imposed in India despite the country not conveying a clear stance on the legality of virtual assets