NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council will meet on Aug. 2 to decide on a 28% tax on funds that online gaming companies and casinos collect from customers, and finalise other rules, a government official said on Wednesday.
The council, chaired by India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state finance ministers, will decide if the tax should be imposed only once on the total funds deposited to play an online game, or each time a bet is placed – something the industry fears will lead to repeated taxation.
The official asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media. The Finance Ministry and GST Council Secretariat did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Since the government first announced its plan for the tax on July 11, the gaming industry and its investors have asked it to review the decision, which will increase the tax burden on both companies and consumers.
Last week, Tiger Global, Peak XV and Steadview Capital were among 30 foreign and domestic investors that asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the tax, saying the levy would adversely impact $4 billion in prospective investments.
India’s revenue secretary, Sanjay Malhotra, told a local television channel on Tuesday that “the taxation, as has been claimed by the gaming industry, becomes very high in case it is taxed at each and every bet. That’s true, it’s a fact.”
This would be taken into account when a final decision is taken by the GST Council, Malhotra told NDTV.
(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri; Editing by Savio D’Souza)
