Centre reveals action against 11 crypto exchanges for tax evasion, Rs 95.86 crore recovered

moneycontrol.com:

Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on March 28, said that the government had initiated action against 11 cryptocurrency exchanges in India for tax evasions worth a total Rs 81.54 crore.

MoS Chaudhary added that recovery from the cryptocurrency exchanges, including interest and penalty charges is Rs 95.86 crore.

The reply also clarified that the government did not collect any data on crypto exchanges.

Asked whether crypto exchanges were involved in evasion of goods and services tax (GST), the MoS said that few cases of GST evasion by crypto exchanges had been detected by the central GST formations. For details it said that 11 such exchanges had been investigated for Rs 81.54 crore of evasions and Rs 95.86 crore were collected including the interest and penalty charges.

Also Read | As India seeks firm footing on cryptocurrency, investors await clarity

Almost two months after the government proposed a taxation policy for income from trading in virtual digital assets (VDAs), there is still a lack of clarity on various aspects, experts said.

According to Pratik Gauri, founder of 5ireChain, a blockchain ecosystem, the wavering clarifications and piecemeal developments indicate that the government is feeling its way through the subject of crypto regulation, and with little or no precedent to go by, it is trying to find a foothold in understanding the various challenges it will face in implementation once regulations are in place.

The government proposed in the Budget 2022 on February 1 that income from the transfer of any virtual digital asset be taxed at 30 percent. It said no deduction of any expenditure or allowance will be allowed while computing such income, except the cost of