The central government has recovered a total of 95.86 crores from 11 crypto exchanges for dodging the Goods and Services Tax, including interest and penalties (GST).
In a written response to a query from the Parliament, Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State for Finance, stated.
In response to a question on whether the government collects data on the number of cryptocurrency exchanges in the country, Chaudhary stated that the Centre does not.
According to Chaudhary, central GST formations have found a few examples of cryptocurrency exchanges evading GST.
Crypto exchanges were found to be responsible for a total tax evasion of 81.54 crore, according to the agencies. The statement did not provide a schedule for these investigations.
Biggest Tax Evasion Was By WazirX
Zanmai Labs Pvt. Ltd, which operates under the brand WazirX, was found to be the most evasive. The total amount of evasion was 40.51 crore, while the amount collected was 49.18 crore.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) department said in December 2021 that it has discovered GST evasion of 40.5 crore on commission generated by India’s top crypto exchange WazirX.
The Finance Ministry Oversees CBIC.
The indirect tax department has contended that WazirX issued its own cryptocurrency, WRX coins, but did not pay the applicable 18% GST on these coins. The GST rate for services in the financial sector is 18%.
WazirX’s Official Statement On The Matter
In a response, a WazirX spokesperson had then said, “There was an ambiguity in the interpretation of one of the components, which led to a different calculation of GST paid.
However, we voluntarily paid additional GST in order to be cooperative and compliant. There was and is no intention to evade tax. That being said, we strongly believe that regulatory clarity is the need of the hour for the Indian crypto industry.
It will also provide us with more clarity on taxation so that we can work in sync with the lawmakers, and continue to be a responsible industry player.
Conclusion.
There are other prominent players in the crypto market involved as well, as per the government on Monday, Coin DCX came second on the list with evasion of ₹15.70 crores. The exchange paid back ₹17.10 crore, which was interest and penalty.
