Even though cryptocurrencies have stayed in the globe for more than two decades now, Indian regulators and governments across the world still seem to be figuring out these assets. Unclear regulations have been a huge issue for users and lovers of crypto. While regulators of several countries have been trying to deal with crypto in their own way, India seems to be addressing the taxing of these digital assets even before assessing their legality.
Indian Crypto Lovers Continue To Live In A Dilemma
Indian crypto enthusiasts sighed with relief after the Supreme Court lifted the crypto ban insinuated by the RBI. However, the citizens of India continue to live in a dilemma as the Court nor the regulators have clarified the status of crypto in the country. Now that the price of Bitcoin [BTC] is rising without a hurdle, several governments seem to have intensified their probe with regard to the crypto market. The Times of India revealed that the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau [CEIB] had urged the Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs [CBIC] to acquire a whopping amount of Rs. 7,200 crores every year in light of Bitcoin trading.
The CEIB concluded that it intends to levy an 18% goods and services tax [GST] on transactions pertaining to Bitcoin. With this Bitcoin taxation, the government could procure a total of $970 million. Despite this tax imposition, the legality of these assets remains under the wraps. The CEO of Policy 4.0, a policy advisory platform, Tanvi Ratna took to Twitter to shed light on the same. The tweet read,
“#India govt mulls imposing #GST on #crypto. Sadly, this does not necessarily imply that crypto will be legal. Under Indian law, illegal income is also taxable & evading its tax counts as criminal activity.”
However, the news portal pointed out that the CEIB categorized Bitcoins as “intangible assets”. This category could further allow the government to impose GST on all BTC transactions.