Solving Challenges in the Levy and Collection of the Goods and Services Tax on Virtual Digital Assets (Cryptoassets) in India
Keywords:
Goods and Services Tax, Cryptoassets, Virtual Digital Assets, Cryptocurrency, Non-Fungible TokensAbstract
The upsurge in cryptoasset transactions in India has led the Indian Government to introduce the concept of virtual digital assets for the purpose of levying direct taxes. Although a direct tax mechanism has been formulated, a robust mechanism for the levying and collection of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), India’s unified indirect tax system, has not been introduced to date. This has resulted in tax administration-related challenges for authorities dealing with the GST and has created legal interpretational ambiguities for companies in the virtual digital asset industry, leading to the possibility of endless litigation occurring. Therefore, this paper has been written with the objectives of identifying the difficulties that arise when levying and collecting the GST on virtual digital asset transactions and providing possible routes that can be taken in order to counteract such difficulties from the Indian perspective.
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