India’s Tax Authority Requests Information from Crypto Exchanges About Coins Traded on Their Platforms

According to Friday’s Business Standard, India’s Central Board of Indirect Tax and Customs (CBIC) has requested information from significant Indian cryptocurrency exchanges about the cryptocurrencies transacted on their platforms. According to a top officer who was quoted:

“We had meetings with crypto exchanges on wide-ranging issues relating to the asset class. We have sought a detailed report on different crypto products being traded and their respective transaction fees and how they are getting calculated.”

Additionally, it is said that the CBIC is assessing the taxability of cryptocurrency transactions to see if the GST may be applied to them. The tax authority is also defining and categorizing cryptocurrency assets.

The official added that it would be simple to assess how GST may apply to these crypto items and their corresponding tax rate if people had a better grasp of them and how they are traded. Crypto exchanges have until the end of this month to submit the required paperwork, according to the tax office.

The current GST rate for services offered by cryptocurrency exchanges is 18%. A 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) for bitcoin transactions went into force in July, and the Indian government started taxing cryptocurrency profits at 30% in April. The Ministry of Finance disclosed last month that it is investigating how GST might be applied to cryptocurrency.

The country’s crypto policy is currently being developed by the Indian government. The government intends to debate cryptocurrency legislation during its G20 Presidency in order to create a technology-driven regulatory framework, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated earlier this month.

According to reports from last month, India intends to make its decision about the legality of cryptocurrencies by the first quarter of 2019 in order to adhere to the guidelines established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).