IT Dept Collects More Than 700 Crore Rupees in TDS from Online Gaming and Crypto Trading

TDS Collection from Online Gaming and Crypto Trade: Under the recently introduced TDS rules for online gaming and cryptocurrency trading, the government has collected over 700 crore rupees in taxes in the current quarter, as confirmed by CBDT Chairperson Nitin Gupta.

Starting from April 1, 2023, the Finance Act of 2023 introduced a new section, 194BA, into the Income Tax Act of 1961, which mandates online gaming platforms to deduct income tax (TDS) from the net earnings of users held in their accounts.

When you withdraw money from your account or at the end of the financial year, taxes need to be taken out. Starting from April 1, 2022, there is a 30% tax on income from the sale of cryptocurrencies or virtual digital assets. This tax applies even if your total income is below Rs 2.50 lakh. 

The only amount you can subtract from the taxable income is the initial purchase cost. In the 2022-2023 budget, the Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, proposed a one percent tax on virtual digital asset transfers, but only on the amount that exceeds a certain threshold.

Even though India has taken a cautious approach to cryptocurrencies, suggesting that any laws to regulate or ban them should only come into play after thorough international discussions about their pros and cons, the tax was put into effect.

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