After the massive tax evasion of GST by cryptocurrency service provider WazirX, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence has come down heavily on cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the country, said sources. "Around half a dozen offices of cryptocurrency service providers have been searched and massive Goods and Service Tax (GST) evasion has been detected by DGGI," sources told ANI. Crypto wallet and exchange are platforms where merchants and consumers can transact with digital assets like bitcoin, ethereum, ripple, etc.
The Centre has recovered around Rs 95.86 crore from at least 11 crypto exchanges for evading goods and services tax (GST), according to data released by Parliament on Monday. The amount includes interest and penalty. The GST investigation department has detected a total tax evasion of Rs 81.54 crore by crypto exchanges that include WazirX, Coin DCX, CoinSwitch Kuber, Buy Ucoin, UnoCoin and Flitpay, among other exchanges. In a written reply to Lok Sabha, minister of state (MoS) for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said 11 cases of GST evasion by cryptocurrency exchanges have been detected by central GST formations.
In the Silicon Valley of India, one can use the cryptocurrency to pay for food, buy bus tickets, order stuff online, and even get a haircut.
Following the surge in demand, Bitcoin is being quoted on Indian exchanges at 25-28 per cent higher than the international price, reports Rajesh Bhayani.
The author meets the brains behind Unocoin, the first Indian Bitcoin exchange and merchant processor in India to have raised international funding.
Last week, the country's leading exchange, Zebpay, launched trading in Litecoin, which is the eighth-largest cryptocurrency, following rising demand from Indian investors.
Rajesh Bhayani highlights all that you need to know about the online currency.
Don't invest more than 5 per cent of your portfolio in bitcoin. The virtual currency's price has run up very fast and experts feel a correction may be around the corner.
The future of cryptocurrencies in India appears uncertain but that has not deterred young Indians from embracing the so-called 'fourth industrial revolution' world, where interconnectivity and smart automation, much of it relying on blockchain technology, drive human civilisation. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has repeatedly warned of macroeconomic instability and even "serious consequences" if cryptocurrencies turn mainstream. The country's monetary authority wants a China-like total ban on crypto, not even allowing these currencies to be treated as investments. Though Parliament's website had listed the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill as one seeking a total ban of cryptocurrencies in the country, it was not presented in the Winter Session. India now has the highest number of cryptocurrency investors in the world.
A new solution to raise deal speed is expected to avoid hiccups in trading when launched on August 1
Indian exchanges see spurt in volumes due to the entry of newcomers to the trade
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