Proposal for tax relief in budget by gaming and crypto exchanges

- More than 900 gaming companies operating in the country and estimated to have invested around $2.80 billion

Mumbai: Gaming companies and cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the country are looking for tax relief for their industry in the upcoming budget.

In a pre-Budget submission to the Finance Ministry, the online gaming industry has requested the government not to reduce the limit for Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) from Rs 10,000 at present. There were recent reports that the government is considering reducing this limit to collect more tax.

On the other hand, the government has started deducting 1 percent TDS on crypto transactions since last year, and there has been a submission from crypto exchanges to review the income tax provisions, sources in the finance ministry said.

Profits from trading in cryptocurrencies cannot be offset against losses.

There are more than 900 gaming companies in India and approximately 2.80 billion dollars have been invested in this industry in the last two and a half years. Sources also said that the internet industry organization Indatac has submitted a proposal to the government that indigenous startups in the gaming industry should be provided tax incentives.

It has been demanded to reconsider the provision of income tax on the transaction of cryptos. It has been requested by India Web3 Association that the 30 percent tax applied on virtual digital assets in the budget of the last financial year is too high.

The association represents crypto exchanges and web3 players.