Cryptocurrency: Govt to introduce Official Digital Currency Bill 2021 in winter session

New Delhi: Finally it's coming up. A bill that aims at regulating cryptocurrency investment in India, the Official Digital Currency Bill 2021 will be introduced in the upcoming winter session of the parliament. The winter session begins on November 29. As per the legislative agenda released Tuesday evening, as many as 26 new bills have been listed for introduction in the winter session. The cryptocurrency bill strives to create a framework for the creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India, mentioned the agenda.

Expressing concern over the rising number of India's cryptocurrency investors, PM Modi said a few days back that countries together need to work towards minimising risks related to cryptocurrency or bitcoin. "It is important that all democratic nations work together on this and ensure it does not end up in the wrong hands, which can spoil our youths", PM Modi had said at a forum hosted by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance and cryptocurrency industry members chaired by Member of Parliament Jayant Sinha met with various crypto-market entities to discuss the way forward early in November.In an interview to news agency PTI, Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj had said that the government would be considering changes in the income tax laws to bring cryptocurrencies under the tax net. These changes could be part of the annual budget for the next financial year. 

Tarun Bajaj added that some people were already paying capital gains tax on the income derived from trading in cryptocurrencies. As for GST, he stated that laws were very clear. The rate of taxation would be applicable as those in the case of other services.

"The government would be taking resort to existing norms to categorise facilitators, brokerages and trading platforms and the modus operandi of taxation from existing platforms involving similar services", Bajaj said in response to a question. He said that whatever GST rates were applicable on them, would be extended to cryptocurrency trading as well. 

Prime Minister Modi in a televised address on November 13 he emphasised that attempts to mislead youth via non-transparent and enticing advertisements had to stop. He added that the unregulated asset cannot be permitted to become an avenue for money laundering and terror financing. While addressing the Sydney Dialogue on November 18 he had urged democratic nations to work together and prevent the misuse of technological innovation like cryptocurrency.

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