New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, In upcoming G20 meeting she would be looking at a global SOP (standard operating procedure) for regulating crypto assets with central bank governors and finance ministers in a much-needed clarity on the way forward for the crypto sector.
As per the reports, Sitharaman said to issue cryptocurrencies the central bank would be recognised as the authority.
Talking about her agenda for the upcoming G20 which will be held in Bengaluru later this month she added, “The rest of the assets created outside that are using beneficial financial technologies, even those have to be discussed, as regulations cannot be done by one country alone; it has to be a collective action because technology doesn’t brook any borders.”
On February 1, when Union Budget speech made by Finance Minister there was no announcement for the Crypto and virtual digital asset (VDAs) industry players, because of that they were left unhappy. The industry was expecting some relief on the tax front, especially the 1 per cent tax deducted at source (TDS) on all transactions to come down to 0.1 per cent. The crypto industry was also looking ahead to some indications in terms of regulations and appointing a regulator.
On January 31, for the first time the crypto industry found a mention in the Economic Survey. However, it was mostly to highlight the sector’s underlying risks and high volatility and the need for a global approach towards regulations.
To get clarity on crypto some industry players were banking on upcoming India’s G20 presidency.
The CEO of crypto exchange Bitbns, Gaurav Dahake said, “The crypto industry participants anticipated this beforehand, and we are also expecting some encouraging developments around G20 in Q2. Since India is holding the presidency this year, Cryptocurrency is one of the key themes they are working on”.
The global coordination on crypto policy could lead to a uniform global taxation regime, at least across the G20 countries, He added.
An update in the Finance Bill 2023 mentioned that non-payment of TDS of VDAs will be penalised, including a jail term of up to six months or a penalty of unpaid TDS amount.
