Indian authorities have identified a violation of tax law by the cryptocurrency exchange WazirX, owned by Binance. This is stated in a press release.
During a review of the platform’s business activity, authorities found evasion of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) totaling ₹49.2 crore rupees (over $6 million), including interest and penalties.
Authorities have also turned their attention to other exchanges. According to The Economic Times, the entities under investigation include CoinDCX, Unocoin, Coinswitch Kuber and BuyUCoin.
“The above-mentioned case is part of a campaign against tax evasion. […] The CGST Department will cover all cryptocurrency exchanges within the Mumbai area, and will intensify this work in the coming days,” the release notes.
According to CoinDesk, WazirX cited a lack of regulatory clarity and said that it “conscientiously pays GST on tens of crores each month.”
“Ambiguity in one interpretation of a component gave rise to another calculation of the value-added tax. We voluntarily paid an additional GST. There was no intention to evade taxes,” the company said.
Binance acquired the Indian cryptocurrency exchange in November 2019.
In the summer of 2021, the Enforcement Directorate of India’s Ministry of Finance announced an investigation into WazirX. Later, media refined that authorities are examining the activities of apps operated by Chinese operators — part of the funds allegedly laundered through a Bitcoin exchange.
Earlier in 2021, there were reports of a possible legislative ban on cryptocurrencies, with talk of criminal liability for owners.
Later, it emerged that authorities will regulate digital currencies as a class of assets.
However, in November, officials again discussed the government’s intention to ban most “private currencies”. This caused a panic in the local market, which led to a short-term local drop in the price of Bitcoin by 15%.
In December, media reported that authorities would nevertheless regulate digital assets rather than ban them.
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