The Central Bureau of Economic Intelligence of India (CEIB) proposes taxing cryptocurrency trading at 18%. The agency classifies Bitcoin as “intangible asset”, reports The Times of India.
The matter concerns a goods and services tax (GST). The government is currently considering the proposal, which envisages levying the tax on each Bitcoin transaction and on margin trading.
A sharp rise in cryptocurrency trading volumes followed the Supreme Court’s lifting of the RBI’s two-year ban on servicing crypto companies.
The average daily trading volume on four leading Indian cryptocurrency exchanges as of December 29, 2020 stood at more than $36 million, compared with just under $4.5 million as of March 1, 2020 (according to CoinGecko data).
The annual turnover of Bitcoin trading in India stands at $5.45 billion; cryptocurrency remains unregulated. Bitcoin exchanges in the country continue to operate without regulatory compliance burdens.
In July 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India should develop the Internet of Things, Big Data, blockchain and 5G.
Earlier, venture investor and billionaire Tim Draper said he was examining the investment appeal of Indian crypto startups.
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