India’s crypto market has expanded quickly in recent years, but the rules around cryptocurrencies are still unclear. Now, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has released detailed guidelines for crypto exchanges
and other intermediaries on how they must report crypto transactions under the country’s existing tax laws.
The new guidance is mainly aimed at improving tax reporting and reducing tax evasion. It does not introduce any new regulations for cryptocurrencies.
CBDT Adopts Global Crypto Reporting Standard
According to reports, the CBDT has also adopted the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
This global framework allows participating countries to automatically exchange tax-related information about crypto-assets.
The CBDT said the move reflects India’s commitment to tackling tax evasion and protecting government revenue. It also noted that the rapid growth of crypto-assets has created new challenges for tax authorities.
The guidance defines crypto-assets as digital representations of value that use cryptography and distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain, to secure and verify transactions.
Crypto Still Not Regulated in India
Although the CBDT has issued reporting guidelines, the central government has made it clear that it is not planning to regulate cryptocurrencies at this stage.
The government has said that cryptocurrencies are not recognised as an asset in India, and therefore there is currently no need to create a regulatory framework for them.
Earlier, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had supported the idea of banning cryptocurrencies because of potential financial risks.
PIB Rejects Viral Claim
The Press Information Bureau (PIB) has also dismissed a viral social media claim that the Finance Ministry had asked the RBI and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to explore crypto regulation.
According to the PIB, the claim is false. It clarified that the Finance Ministry has issued no such directive
and repeated that cryptocurrencies are not recognised as assets in India, so there is currently no proposal to regulate the sector.
