What the Indian crypto industry expects from Budget 2023

The cryptocurrency industry has high hopes for the upcoming Union Budget of 2023. The industry is hoping that FM Nirmala Sitraman will implement a number of changes, particularly in the classification and taxation of Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs). The two most important requirements are:-

1. The 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on Crypto asset sales transactions should be eliminated. This tax causes investors to lose money with each trade and discourages new investors from entering the market, resulting in a loss of capital investment in crypto assets.

2. The current tax structure should be changed to allow for the set-off and carry-forward of losses in VDAs in the same way that equity shares and derivatives do. The 30% threshold was established in response to comparisons of digital assets with highly speculative avenues such as gambling and betting. However, because VDAs are similar to securities trading, they should be treated similarly in terms of taxation and setoff benefits.

According to The Esya Centre, a Delhi-based think tank, the 30% tax and 1% TDS resulted in a total trade volume of Rs 32,000 crore shifting from Indian crypto exchanges to foreign ones between February and October 2022. According to the study, the current tax structure will result in a loss of approximately Rs 99.3 trillion in local exchange trade volume over the next four years.

Furthermore, the use of international exchanges raises concerns about data privacy because user data is stored abroad, with Indian users having less recourse. The government also loses potential tax revenue and violates current policy by attempting to improve the ease of doing business.

Optimising these taxes will level the playing field for Indian exchanges and be consistent with the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India policies.

For the first time, India is the G20 president, and she will lead this influential group for a year. The G20 is the only platform that brings together the world’s major developed and emerging economies. The world has taken note of India’s approach as it successfully navigated the global pandemic and the recent Ukraine crisis. PM Modi and FM Sitarman have both stated on numerous occasions that crypto regulation must be a global effort. Because what the G20 countries adopt will set the tone for the rest of the world to follow, India has a unique opportunity to set the agenda on global crypto regulation.