• Notification Date: 15-12-2022
• Notification No: N/A

Government Collects Rs 61 Crore Revenue from TDS On Crypto Assets

On Tuesday, the government declared to have received Rs 60.46 crore in taxes from entities for transactions in virtual digital assets (VDAs). The VDA entities include cryptocurrencies. The government has reported to have received revenue of about Rs.61 crore since the introduction of TDS provisions in July 2022. 

The government has levied a 30 percent income tax plus surcharge and cess on the transfer of crypto assets, like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether and Dogecoin since 1 April 2022. To keep the money in track, the government has also introduced a one percent tax deducted at source (TDS) on payments over Rs 10,000 on virtual digital currencies under Section 194S of the Income Tax Act, from 1 July 2022. 

Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary stated that CBDT conducts outreach and awareness programmes for deductors and taxpayers. The department takes appropriate action, including search & seizure operations, surveys, enquiries etc., as and when required. 

The minister said that after the insertion of Section 194S in the Income-tax Act, 1961 through Finance Act, 2022, a total of 318 direct tax challans having TDS code 194S have been received. The total value of tax amounts to about Rs 60.46 crore. 

Under the Income Tax Act, 1961, Section 194S has been inserted through the Finance Act, 2022, for deduction of tax at source in respect of the transfer of VDAs. Any person engaged in transactions related to VDAs, has to comply by this rule. 

Commenting on the unregulated crypto assets in India, the State Finance Minister further added, "Crypto assets are by definition borderless and require international collaboration to prevent regulatory arbitrage.”