online gaming companies are in accordance with legal provisions, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal said on Thursday, ruling out any immediate review.
He said the government was ready to implement the 28% GST regime for online gaming, horse racing and casinos following the GST Council’s decision of last month as soon as all states amend their respective laws. The Council will take stock of the tax regime in six months, as decided at its last meeting on August 2, he said.
“The department is taking a uniform stand in the interpretation of law and, accordingly, showcause notices are being issued,” Agarwal told reporters on the sidelines of a Ficci event, adding that all notices were based on internal data analysis. His comments came in the backdrop of many large online gaming companies — including Delta Corp and Dream11 — receiving tax demand notices running into thousands of crores.
On August 16, ET first reported that the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) would send notices to real money gaming (RMG) companies that had hitherto paid tax at a rate of 18% on gross gaming revenue, positioning themselves as platforms of ‘games of skill.’
Total tax liability of these gaming companies is seen at about Rs 55,000 crore. Agarwal declined to give any number on the tax liability, saying that in many cases, state tax authorities had issued