Breaking: Indian Govt. Charges 11 Crypto Exchanges For Tax Evasion

The Indian government had accused 11 crypto exchanges, including WazirX, CoinDCX, CoinSwitch Kuber, of tax evasion, said Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in a written response to the Parliament on Monday. Moreover, the central government has recovered a total of ₹95.86 crore, which is almost $12.58 million, from 11 crypto exchanges for evading the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

11 Indian Crypto Exchanges Under Radar For Tax Evasions

In a written reply to a query in the Parliament of India, Lok Sabha, on March 28, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary revealed a GST evasion recovery of ₹81.54 crore, around $10.70 million, from 11 crypto exchanges. In addition, interest and penalty charges were collected, making a total tax collection of ₹95.86 crore.

The crypto exchanges under the GST investigation are Zanmai Labs (WazirX), CoinDCX, CoinSwitch Kuber, Buy Ucoin, UnoCoin, Flitpay, Zeb IT Services, Secure Bitcoin Traders, Giottus Technologies, Awlencan Innovations India (Zebpay), and Discidium Internet Labs.

On a query regarding the number of crypto exchanges operating in the country, Chaudhary said the ministry does not collect such data. The largest tax evasions are by crypto exchanges WazirX, CoinDCX, and CoinSwitch Kuber of ₹40.51 crore, ₹15.70 crore, and ₹13.76 crore, respectively.

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Moreover, during the GST evasion investigation, the government officials noticed the collection of revenue from commissions as trading fees, deposit fees, and withdrawal fees.

Pratik Gauri, the founder of blockchain ecosystem 5ireChain, said:

“The government is trying to find a foothold in understanding the various challenges it will face in implementation once regulations are in place.”

Indian Govt Stance on Crypto Regulation

The Indian government has maintained its negative stance on cryptocurrencies and its regulation. However, the government will look to explore technological advancements with blockchain technology. During the latest 2022-23 budget in February, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a 30% tax on cryptocurrency or virtual digital assets.

Recently, the Indian Parliament passes the Finance Bill 2022 finally approving the 30% crypto tax and an additional 1% tax deducted at source (TDS), despite criticism from the Indian crypto users.