The government will levy goods and services tax (GST) on the service fees on cryptocurrency transactions, not the digital asset’s gross value, two finance ministry officials said. However, the finance ministry has yet to work out the indirect tax treatment of certain crypto transactions that may fall into actionable claims.
GST applies to goods or services that are supplied for a price; however, certain transactions say, a company giving free crypto tokens to motivate employees or promote its products may not fit this description of supply and may be classified as an actionable claim, which stays out of the purview of GST. The government may approach the GST Council to issue a clarification, the officials said on condition of anonymity.
“GST on crypto-assets applies only on the margins or service fee charged by exchanges and not on the entire value,” one of the two officials said. But the government is yet to firm up a policy for GST applicability in case of ‘actionable claims’.
“In the case of certain transactions, say mining activity of cryptocurrency or exchange between two persons in crypto assets, we have been examining whether it involves a transaction in the supply of goods or services, or if it is just an actionable claim that is neither goods nor services under GST law,” the second official said. He said if it is classified as goods or services, then GST will apply. “One view is that because it is an actionable claim, it is neither goods nor services. That part is not very clear. We are giving a good, hard look, and we will firm up our view in due course,” the official added.
There is little clarity on the overall crypto tax front even after the Union budget on Tuesday proposed to tax income from virtual assets at a steep 30%. It will be now up to the GST Council to frame guidance on the indirect tax front. According to experts, the definition of virtual assets in the budget would qualify cryptocurrencies or non-fungible tokens as ‘intangible goods’ and be liable to GST accordingly.
Source: livemint.com
***
Don’t miss the next Tax Update / Article / Judicial pronouncement
Subscribe to our newsletter for FREE to stay updated on GST Law
Resolve your GST queries from national level experts on GST free of cost.
TW Editorial Team comprises of team of experienced Chartered Accountants and Advocates devoted to spread the knowledge of GST amongst the various stakeholders.
