On October 1, 2023, the new tax regime for online money gaming came into effect but there was some confusion among the industry as some states could not pass state GST law changes. Therefore, the Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra came to the fore to clarify some confusion. For the unversed, so far a total of 18 states have passed the new tax regime to implement 28 percent GST (Goods and Services Tax) on online money gaming, casinos, and horse racing. The remaining states have to make the necessary changes from October 1. Recently, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra said at a briefing following the GST Council meeting that the states have agreed to make the change in their tax regime from October 1.
28% GST for Online Money Gaming
According to Sanjay Malhotra, there are 13 states which are yet to amend the state laws or ordinances to make the necessary legislative changes. He went on to add that all the remaining 13 states have agreed to make this legislative change in their states. The Revenue Secretary clarified it in the context of some of the states were not able to pass the new GST law for online money games when the new tax regime was brought into effect from October 1, 2023, by the Council but it led to some confusion among the industry.
Nirmala Sitharaman Speaks About Online Gaming
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the media that Atishi who is the finance minister of Delhi state brought the issue of the online gaming industry to light. Atishi was concerned that the taxing online gaming platform at 28 percent would kill a rising industry. A day before the Union finance minister spoke about online gaming, the Delhi state finance minister said at a virtual meeting that tax notices to the tune of around Rs 1.5 trillion issued to online money gaming companies should be taken back and go ahead with 28 percent GST on these companies would force the entire start-up sector of India to kneel down.
However, the figure of Rs 1.5 trillion tax notice sent to the online gaming companies by the central government, was not confirmed. Centre’s stance is that it was the DGGI (Directorate General of GST Intelligence) that was issuing the notices. Online gaming platforms have been claiming that the 28 percent GST will affect their viability. Meanwhile, it led to some perplexion in the industry. Therefore, Sanjay Malhotra came up with a clarification that the remaining states also have agreed to make this necessary change in their laws.