After a draft was filed last year, the Indian government has been sitting on it for a long time without taking any actions. It has been termed as “Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019″, when the document was drafted by inter-ministerial committee headed by former Finance and Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg.
However, in a significant move, media reports have suggested that consultation regarding the bill has started. But till date their is no official confirmation of the various reports. Mohammed Danish, co-founder of Crypto Kanoon, filed an RTI application with the Department of Economic Affairs.
“The government has set up inter-ministerial committee (IMC) for examining the issues of cryptocurrencies under the chairmanship of Secretary (EA),” he writes in the letter.
“The report of the IMC on VCs [virtual currencies] has since been submitted by its members, but is awaiting approval of the government. The report and bill now be examined by the government through inter-ministerial consultation by moving a cabinet note in due course,” the letter added.
The bill will have a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies. Danish also mentioned that it prescribes punishment for every activity from mining, holding, advertising, promoting, buying, selling to providing exchange services … If this bill is converted into law in the present form, then no sector can survive.
He also said that the crypto bill might not be of satisfaction for the finance minister of the country as the DEA highlighted the use of ‘government’ in its response to the Ministry of Finance.
