GST Mumbai East Commissionerate of Mumbai Zone on Friday discovered a GST evasion worth Rs 40.5 crore and recovered Rs 49.20 crore in cash related to evaded GST, interest and fine from the cryptocurrency exchange WazirX.
According to a press release from the Commissionerate, the detection was made while investigating the business of the exchange, which is operated by Zanmai Labs and cryptocurrency WRX is owned by Binance Investment, Seychelles.
According to the release, this exchange offers the trader an option to trade in Rupees or WRX. The WRX must be purchased from the WazirX platform. The taxpayer charges commission for every cryptocurrency transaction from both buyer and seller, it said.
“However, the commission rate is different for both trades. The rupee trade attracts 0.2 percent commission and the WRX trade attracts 0.1 percent commission,” the release added.
During the investigation, it was noticed that taxpayers collected revenue from the commission as trading fees, down payments and withdrawal fees. The taxpayer only paid GST on commission earned in rupees, but did not pay GST on commission earned in WRX. A VAT rate of 18 percent applies to these transaction costs. GST of Rs. 40.5 crore was not paid, which was paid on December 30 along with interest and penalty. Total Rs. 49.2 crore has been recovered from the WazirX on the spot. Further investigation is underway.
The above case is part of the special fight against tax evasion, which is based on intensive data mining and data analysis, initiated by the CGST Mumbai Zone. The officers of the CGST Mumbai zone are investigating business transactions related to emerging economic spaces such as e-commerce, online gaming and non-replaceable tokens to identify the areas of potential tax evasion.
“The CGST division will cover all cryptocurrency exchanges in the Mumbai zone and will also intensify this drive in the coming days,” the release said.
The investigation into the case is in full swing.
Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not legal tender and subject to market risks. The information contained in the article is not intended as financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any kind offered or endorsed by DailyExpertNews. DailyExpertNews is not responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article.
