GST Council Meeting Live Updates: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council is expected to deliberate on the inclusion of virtual digital asset transactions, payments, and winnings in online gaming under the 28 percent tax bracket, based on their full face value, during today’s meeting on August 2. The meeting will be chaired by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The high-level meeting is taking place less than a month after the previous meeting and it is will be held via video-conferencing. In the 50th GST Council Meeting on July 11, several key decisions were announced for various sectors in India. The GST Council had
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51st GST Council Meeting Live Updates: Expectations From Online Gaming and Casinos
The GST Council, in its meeting today, is likely to finalise the modalities for determination of supply value in online gaming and casinos for levying 28 per cent tax.
51st GST Council Meeting Live Updates: Key Decisions On Online Gaming
The Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state ministers, in its last meeting on July 11 approved levying 28 per cent tax on full face value of bets in online gaming, casinos and horse racing.
51st GST Council Meeting Live Updates: Key Decisions From The Last Meeting
The GST Council at its 50th meeting on July 11 announced several key decisions in the GST system of various sectors in India. Rates were brought down on four items, including fish soluble paste and LD slag from 18 percent to 5 percent. Three items received exemption from GST, including medicines for rare diseases. Personal use and import of cancer medicine exempted from GST.
51st GST Council Meeting Live Updates: Meeting To Start At 4pm Today
Union Finance Minister will chair the 51st GST Council meeting via video conference in New Delhi at 4pm, Today.
The meeting will be attended by Union Minister of State for Finance, besides Finance Ministers of States and UTs (with Legislature) besides Senior officials from Union Government and States.
agreed to levy a 28 per cent tax on online gaming, casinos and horse racing and the tax would be levied on full face value. The panel, headed by the Union finance minister with representatives of all states and UTs, decided on the tax rate based on recommendation of a group of ministers that looked at taxing casinos, horse racing and online gaming.
The issue before the GoM (group of ministers) was whether to impose a 28 per cent GST on the face value of bets, or gross gaming revenue, or just on platform fees. Nirmala Sitharaman said the tax will be levied on the entire value.
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Soon after the announcement, industry experts reacted saying that the GST rate is a major setback for Indian players. Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports said that this decision will have a chilling effect on the USD 2.5 billion of FDI already invested by investors and jeopardise potentially any further FDI in the sector.
The council decided to do away with the distinction of game of skill and chance in the case of online gaming. 28 per cent tax would be levied on the full face value of bets.
The GoM in its first report submitted to the GST Council in June 2022, had suggested that 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) be levied on full value of the bets placed, including the contest entry fee paid by the player on participating in the game. In cases of race courses, the GoM recommended that GST be levied on the full value of bets pooled in the totalisators and placed with the bookmakers.
Meanwhile, ahead of the GST council meeting today, online gamers’ association requested finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for a reduction of 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST), saying high taxation would lead to mushrooming of illegal gaming firms.
Gamers from Tier II and Tier III cities under the aegis of ‘Indian Gamers United’ in an open letter to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that high taxation will push the gamers towards illegal and offshore platforms where no tax is payable but will put the gamers into a very high risk.
The association also pitched for making a distinction between games of chance like gambling and games of skill like gaming. Gaming is a skill-based activity and cannot be clubbed together with games of luck like gambling and horse racing so taxation requires a relook and making it tax friendly, ‘Indian Gamers United’ said in a statement.
Since several of these games come with the option to earn monetary rewards, this is giving rise to a segment where young people are using their gaming skills to earn money in their free time and becoming part of the gig economy, it said. An unviable rate of GST at the rate of 28 per cent on online games will have adverse impact on this growing industry, it said.
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The agenda for the meeting is expected to include the following items:
Taxability of casinos, race courses and online gaming
Rationalisation of GST rates on various goods and services
Implementation of the e-way bill system
Review of the GST compensation mechanism
Other miscellaneous matters
