India may impose tax on cryptocurrency bought abroad

India bitcoin
The Indian authorities may impose a 2% tax on cryptocurrency purchased on foreign exchanges, CoinDesk writes, citing local media outlets.

India’s Tax Department is studying the feasibility of expanding the so-called “Google tax” on digital assets. The fee is charged for services provided on the territory of the country by foreign e-commerce companies.

“Based on the wording and definition of the new equalization fee, it looks like it will also apply to cryptocurrency purchased on an exchange outside India,” suggested Girish Vanwari, founder of Transaction Square.

In his opinion, if a possible initiative is implemented, trading platforms will have to add 2% to the value of assets.

Amit Maheshwari, a partner at the consulting firm AKM Global, questioned the reality of the introduction of such a fee.

“In the absence of any guidelines for dealing with cryptoassets, there is no clarity on how to treat them in accordance with tax laws and FEMA,” Maheshwari said.

Earlier Reuters reported that India will consider a bill to completely ban transactions with digital assets, which provides for criminal and administrative liability.

In the same month, authorities required cryptocurrency-related companies to disclose their assets.

In May, the media reported that the Indian government will discuss the creation of a committee that will explore the possibility of regulating cryptocurrencies as digital assets, as well as various options for using blockchain.

In June, Bloomberg sources talked about the authorities’ plans to amend the bill to ban cryptocurrencies and consider the possibility of regulating this asset class.