Indian crypto industry seeks discussion with govt on the 28% GST implementation

Crypto industry is looking to discuss with the Government as the Goods and Services Tax Council may now put cryptocurrencies and related services under the 28 percent tax slab.

The Government had already levied 30 percent tax on gains from crypto assets and 1 percent tax deduction at source on transactions. Crypto exchanges are currently paying 18 percent GST on services provided by them.

Akshay Aggarwal, venture partner at Draper Dragon Fund, believes the proposed measures will further fuel the trend of crypto exchanges and talent moving out of India. More importantly, the industry is still dealing with a lack of clarity on multiple factors when it comes to the income tax itself.

The industry has already witnessed a massive drop in transaction volumes over the last one month, since the income tax came into effect on April 1, and the possibility of a higher GST rate is likely to damage the industry further.

Crypto investment platform Mudrex's Co-Founder Edul Patel said, “We are already paying 18 percent GST, 28 percent will not change much. Plus, with the 30% income tax and TDS it was already clear that the government doesn't want to encourage trading. This another step towards that.”