Whether Virtual Currencies should be banned, regulated or observed? Indian Government asks citizens
Bitcoin ,at the moment is, neither legal nor illegal in India. Government has yet to take a decision regarding legality of virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin.
The government had initially constituted an Inter-Disciplinary Committee with a sole purpose of examining and reviewing virtual currencies like Bitcoin. The committee will submit its report to the Government and then the Government will take necessary steps.
Various representatives from Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Financial Services, Department of Revenue (CBDT), Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology , Reserve Bank of India ,NITI Aayog and State Bank of India are the members of the committee. (Click here to read more details)
“DIGITAL INDIA”an initiative launched by our Honorable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi , attempts to make India a digital economy. Maybe this would be a great time for Bitcoins and other digital currencies to get legalized in India.
Recently the Indian Government has also asked citizens of India to express their thoughts regarding Bitcoins and other virtual currencies, on the government website, mygov.in
The government has raised following questions on which it asks citizens to give brief comments:
1.Whether Virtual Currencies (VCs) should be banned, regulated or observed?
2. In case VCs are suggested to be regulated:
What measures should be taken to ensure consumer protection?
What measures should be taken to promote orderly development of VCs?
Which appropriate institution(s) should monitor/ regulate the VCs?
3. In case VCs are not suggested to be regulated:
What should be the effective self-regulatory mechanism?
What measures should be adopted to ensure consumer protection in this scenario?
The government of India has fixed May 31, 2017, as the last day by which citizens can express their thoughts on digital currencies. Visit mygov.in.
Some of the comments posted by the users:
Following may be the expected tax implications on Bitcoins:
1.If any amount is earned by buying and selling of Bitcoins on a regular basis, the income would be charged under the head “Profits and Gains from Business and Profession”
2.If any amount is earned by investing in Bitcoins for a longer period of time, the income may be charges under the head “Income from Capital Gains”
Further Capital Gains are divided into two categories that is Long Term Capital Gains and Short Term Capital Gains each having different rate of tax.
a.The income is charged under Long Term Capital Gains if investment done in any asset (except shares/mutual funds) is redeemed after twenty four months (previously it was thirty six months). For Shares/mutual funds, the income will be taxed as Long Term Capital Gain if the investment is redeemed after twelve months.
b.The Income is charged under Short Term Capital Gains if the investment in asset is redeemed before twenty four months ( except for shares/mutual funds ) and twelve months ( in case of shares/mutual funds)
It is possible that the time period to be considered while taxing the capital gain income from Bitcoin or Virtual Currencies may be same as that of Shares/Mutual Funds or even below that.
(NOTE: This statement is just a viewpoint of the author and it shall not be considered as a fact or law)
ASSOCHAM, India’s biggest and oldest Business chamber had organized India’s First Global Summit on Bitcoins and Blockchain. The event was concluded successfully and was attended by delegates from all over India. The speakers and moderators along with the member of ASSOCHAM were in the view that Indian Government should immediately take some actions and make it clear about the legality of Bitcoins in India.
KryptoMoney.com was proud to be the marketing partner for the event. Click here to read details about the event.
ASSOCHAM further organized another event in Bangalore on 21 April.
Bitcoin is already legalized in Japan, Australia, Philipines and various other countries. It is literally used like fiat currency in US/Europe.
Japan legalized Bitcoins on April 1 , 2017. This caused a big boom in Bitcoin market. Merchants in Japan are now starting to accept Bitcoins in form of payments.
Russia declared that it will legalize Bitcoin by 2018.
Australia too legalized Bitcoins recently. It says Bitcoins can be used “Just like Money”.
Many countries are now entering into Bitcoin space and declaring it as a legal tender.
If Indian government declares Bitcoin as legal, it will surely raise the confidence of Bitcoin community in India. The demand may increase and thus the price can increase significantly.
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