India Panel To Consider Sales Tax on Cryptocurrency Next Week

According to a Bloomberg report, a ministerial panel will meet next week to discuss a goods and services tax on bitcoin transactions. The proposal is being put forth by a government-appointed task force.

The government panel, comprised of central and state ministers, is considering extending the tax net to monitor transactions in virtual digital assets more successfully. According to the report, the panel will hold two days of meetings in Chandigarh from June 28.

The panelists have yet to arrive at a consensus on the matter. The proposal, however, is being put forth by a government-appointed task force.

According to a Bloomberg report, the panel is not expected to finish drafting a rate at its next session. However, it is expected that discussions will take place about raising its tax rate to 28%, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

India imposed a 30% tax on cryptocurrency trading. In February 2022, the 30% crypto income tax took effect. The finance minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman, characterized the legislation as another step toward crypto regulation that is beneficial. The government’s new tax rate had a significant impact on crypto trade volume in the first few months. Within a few months of the new tax rate, trading activity on major exchanges like Coinbase and FTX plummeted by 30%. The high tax rate pushed several large exchanges to consider withdrawing completely from the Indian market.

However, Indian authorities didn’t think the 30% taxation on income was enough. The 28% tax rate is yet to be discussed by the council next week, which was first proposed by India’s Goods and Service Tax Council (GST)  in May 2022. The government’s hard stance on cryptocurrency can be seen in recent actions.