Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that the government is working on a new bill. cryptocurrency Which will take into account the rapidly changing dimensions in the virtual currency space. It will be presented before the cabinet soon and will be presented in Parliament during the current session.
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He said the Enforcement Directorate is investigating eight cases of cryptocurrency-related fraud, stressing that sharing more information may not be in the “greater public interest”. The minister was answering questions of several MPs during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha. BJP MP Swapan Dasgupta asked whether it was desirable to impose a complete ban on currency.
The Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 of Cryptocurrency and Regulation is included in the tentative legislative business for the winter session. The details of the bill, which stated that private cryptocurrencies would be banned, created a huge uproar and led to the crash of the crypto market in India. The listing was based on the old bill.
“Yeah, last time [monsoon session] There was a Bill but later because there were other dimensions… that Bill has been reworked. And in a way, the bill which is coming now is a new bill. But, never mind, all the work done on that bill has been taken on board here.”
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He declined to disclose the outline of the new bill. “Issues related to regulatory capabilities and it has spread in the last two-three years are well taken care of,” he said.
When asked whether the government proposes to ban misleading advertisements in the media, he said that the guidelines of the Advertising Standards Council of India are being studied, which are also being looked into, so that we can take any action if needed. situation or decision. To see how we’re going to handle it”.
Ms Sitharaman said the government, RBI and Securities Exchange Board of India are cautioning people about cryptocurrencies which can be a “high risk” area and “more can be done” to create awareness. He reiterated that cryptocurrencies are unregulated in India and the government does not collect data on these transactions.
To MP Sushil Kumar Modi’s questions, Ms Sitharaman said that non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are also unregulated and clarified that no separate tax rate governs income earned by crypto-exchanges and other crypto-service providing platforms. Is.
His income, he said, is liable to tax under the head business or profession under Chapter IV of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Total income for taxation purposes shall include all income derived from any source.
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