MUMBAI: India’s income tax department has issued 100,000 tax notices to cryptocurrency investors, in the latest sign of a government crackdown on the use of the digital money. People who have made investments (in cryptocurrency) and have not declared income while filing taxes and have not paid tax on the profit earned by investing, we are sending them notices as we feel that it is all taxable,” Sushil Chandra, the head of India’s direct taxes department, was quoted as saying in a news release from an Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India event Tuesday. India has yet to issue guidelines on cryptocurrencies. The digital money isn’t recognized as legal tender in India, Finance minister Arun Jaitley said in his budget announcement last week. The government has set up a committee to look at issues related to cryptocurrencies. The Reserve Bank of India has warned against the financial, economic and security risks it says are associated with holding cryptocurrencies. We found out that there is no clarity on investments made by many people, which means that they have not declared it properly,” Mr. Chandra said. He didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Mr. Chandra said the money people invested in cryptocurrency was taxable, as were any returns. The value of bitcoin, one of the most popular digital currencies, fell below $6,000 dollars Tuesday following a global markets rout. It reached a record high of near $20,000 in December. Ajeet Khurana, head of the Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Committee of India, estimated there were five million crytocurrency users in India. He said several exchanges had worked with the tax department to identify individuals who used cryptoexchanges.
DRI busts smuggling rackets, seizes 31kg gold
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