Ahmedabad crypto exchange gets Rs 722 crore GST notice, a first for crypto sector
GST Intelligence (DGGI) has issued a show-cause notice to a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, demanding a Goods and Services Tax (GST) payment of Rs 722 crore, ToI reported on August 6. This unprecedented action marks the first time the DGGI has targeted a cryptocurrency firm, setting a significant precedent in India’s regulation of the burgeoning virtual currency market, said the report (by Niyati Parikh).
The notice was issued for fees collected from Indian customers trading in virtual digital assets (VDAs) on the platform, categorized under online information database access or retrieval (OIDAR) services. Earlier this year, the cryptocurrency exchange had received approval from India's financial intelligence unit (FIU) to register as a virtual asset service provider (VASP). However, the company was recently penalized Rs 18 crore by the FIU for failing to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.
Despite being a major global player with a substantial market share and operations in multiple countries, the company had not registered under the Indian GST framework, leading to scrutiny from Indian tax authorities. It was revealed that the company earned at least Rs 4,000 crore from transaction fees charged to Indian customers, with these earnings credited to an account of a group company based abroad. The company has a global user base of 90 million, including a significant number of Indian customers.
The company is also facing a trial in an African court for alleged tax evasion amidst a crackdown on
