Economic Times (ET) report indicates that cryptocurrency exchanges that operate in India could be required to pay an additional 18% tax, regardless of their location.
- The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is not paid by almost all exchanges based outside India, ET reported on Friday.
- However, the country’s tax authority examines whether they would be subject to the levy paid on all goods and services transactions.
- India’s exchanges pay 18% GST on their profits and commissions without any clarification from the government.
- ET reported that some experts believe overseas crypto exchanges are subject to GST since they provide certain “data” services.
- According to the tax department, crypto exchanges would be considered a provider of an online information database access and retrieval (OIDAR) service.
- In recent months, India appeared to be moving toward an outright ban on crypto. However, there were signs in June that the government would take a more lenient approach and regulate the industry.