The Central Economic Intelligence Bureau of India (CEIB) proposes to tax cryptocurrency trading at 18%. The agency classifies bitcoin as an “intangible assets”, reports The Times of India.
The government is currently considering a proposal that would levy a Goods and Services Tax (GST) on every bitcoin transaction and margin trade.
The skyrocketing volume in cryptocurrency trading came after the Supreme Court overturned a two-year ban from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on serving cryptocurrency companies.
The average daily trading volume on the top four Indian cryptocurrency exchanges was over $ 36 million as of December 29, 2020, up from just under $ 4.5 million as of March 1, 2020 (according to CoinGecko).
The annual turnover of bitcoin trading in India is $ 5.45 billion, the cryptocurrency is not regulated. Bitcoin exchanges in the country continue to operate without the burden of regulatory compliance.
Recall that in July 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the need to develop the Internet of Things, Big Data, blockchain, and 5G.