Amit Maheshwari News

TDS deductions for virtual digital assets, under which date of transfer and mode of payment will have to be specified. From July 1, tax deducted at source (TDS) of 1 per cent will be levied on payments towards virtual digital assets or cryptocurrencies beyond Rs 10,000 in a year, as the Finance Act 2022 has introduced Section 194S in the I-T Act. In the run up to implementation of the new provision, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on June 21 notified certain amendments in I-T Rules with respect to furnishing TDS returns in Form 26QE and Form 16E.

The income tax department has come out with detailed disclosure requirements for TDS deductions for virtual digital assets, under which date of transfer and mode of payment will have to be specified. From July 1, tax deducted at source (TDS) of 1 per cent will be levied on payments towards virtual digital assets or cryptocurrencies beyond Rs 10,000 in a year, as the Finance Act 2022 has introduced Section 194S in the I-T Act.

Mumbai: A recent drop in the prices of high-value non-fungible tokens (NFTs), coupled with ambiguity in the recently established tax framework, will lead to tax scrutiny for Indian investors in the coming months, as asset valuation norms for digital assets remain unclear, according to tax experts. The tax department is sure to question the sharp drop in the valuation of these virtual digital assets, they said. The department would scrutinise NFT transactions on suspicion that some of the money may have been accepted in cash to reduce the tax outgo.

cryptocurrencies or other digital assets such as NFTs from crypto exchanges as part of their compensation package will face 30% tax on these as they will be defined as a «gift» under the new tax law and not salary or employee stock options (esops), say experts Many exchanges have rolled out their own tokens and offered these as part of their employees' annual income-along the lines of esops. In some cases, it was also linked to employee performance and employees' achieving certain targets. Tax experts say even if the employee hasn't sold such coins, she will be required to cough up the tax during the assessment year. «Unlike the esops tax regime where employees can first vest and then pay taxes on exercise, this beneficial regime is not available for cryptos received by employees. This will also mean that the employee will be required to pay 30% tax on the fair value of crypto assets she received from her employer even if she hasn't sold them,» said Amit Maheshwari, tax partner at tax consultancy firm AKM Global.