No Ready Information On Tax Collected From Crypto Investments: FM Tells Parliament

A day after the finance ministry informed the Parliament that the government does not collect data on cryptocurrency transactions, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has now said that there is no ready information on tax collected from investments made in the virtual asset.

Replying to a question in Rajya Sabha, Sitharaman said, “Don’t have ready information on how much tax has been collected on crypto or how much has been paid on it.”

She further said that the government will introduce the cryptocurrency bill in the Parliament after it receives approval from the Cabinet, adding that non-fungible tokens (NFT) are also being discussed. 

However, it cannot be said at this moment whether the government would come up with a separate framework for NFTs, she added.

On banning “misleading” advertisements by crypto exchanges, the minister told the house today (November 30th) no decision has been taken to ban them but cautionary campaigns have been run by the SEBI, RBI and the government over volatility and the risky nature of the digital asset.

She also said that the guidelines of Advertisement Standards Council of India (ASCI) are being studied and the regulations are all being looked into so that if necessary the government can take a decision on handling the advertisements.

On Monday, November 29th, the Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary said that the government does not collect data on cryptocurrency transactions. In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, the minister noted that the virtual currency is unregulated in India.

The government has listed “The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021″, for the winter session of the Parliament, which started on Monday, November 29. The bill seeks to ban all private cryptocurrencies while allowing a few exceptions.