India Flags Crypto Risks, Cites Tax Enforcement Challenges

• India imposes around a 30% tax on all profits from crypto asset activity, together with a 1% tax cut at source applied to all transfers, whether profitable or not.
• The co-founder of CoinSwitch, Ashish Singhal, mentioned that the current tax framework makes challenges, as losses on crypto transactions are not identified. 

The financial authorities from India have restated concerns over crypto transactions and mentioned that they may muddle tax enforcement. The Income Tax Department of India has highlighted major risks associated with crypto activity at the time of a parliamentary standing committee on finance. 

On January 7, in a parliamentary committee meeting with various agencies such as the Financial Intelligence Unit, the Department of Revenue, and the CBDT, the report named A Study on Virtual Digital Assets and the Way Forward was discussed, in which the alert associated with cryptocurrencies was made. 

The Tax Department mentioned challenges associated with offshore exchanges, private wallets and decentralised finance tools, which make locating taxable income more difficult. In the meeting, the department also highlighted that anonymous, borderless and near-instant value transfers with crypto could permit one to shift funds without regulated financial intermediaries. 

Unidentified Crypto Transactions

The authority also highlighted the jurisdictional challenges shown by offshore VDA activity. With various jurisdictions involved, tracking transactions and recognising holders for tax purposes is virtually not possible. 

The report also highlighted that, however, there have been efforts in the past few months on information sharing; it becomes difficult, scraping the capability of tax officials to undertake proper assessment and reconstruction of transaction chains. 

India imposes around a 30% tax on all profits from crypto asset activity, together with a 1% tax cut at source applied to all transfers, whether profitable or not. India officially permits cryptocurrency trading under this heavy tax regime and accepted the return of major US exchange Coinbase last year, and the complete stance of the government towards crypto remains cautious. 

Local officials have so far mentioned that the crypto ecosystem of India is at a crucial stage, having adoption surging and the FIU approving 49 crypto exchanges in fiscal year 2024-25. The co-founder of CoinSwitch, Ashish Singhal, mentioned that the current tax framework makes challenges, as losses on crypto transactions are not identified. 

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