Crypto Transactions By 700 Investors In India Come Under Tax Authority Scanner: Report

India’s income tax department is reportedly cracking down on high-value cryptocurrency transactions of about 700 investors who are gaining from investing and not paying taxes.

The Income Tax authority has proposed to issue notice to the investors who have either omitted declaring crypto gains on their IT returns or have not filed tax returns at all, The Economic Times reported Tuesday.

"We have a long list of people who were transacting in crypto assets but were not paying tax. Initially, (we) have shortlisted about 700 transactions, where tax liability is very high," a senior official from Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT) told ET.

Interestingly, the list not only includes high net worth individuals, non-resident Indians and startups but also students and housewives.

As per tax officials, some people have gains exceeding 4 million Indian rupees (more than $52,000). Taxpayers have also been treating crypto transactions differently on their tax returns with some declaring income as capital gains while others as business income.

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a 30% tax on capital gains from cryptocurrencies for the next fiscal year beginning April 1.

Tax officials said that apart from imposing levies, the department may also seek penalties, which may go up to 50% over and above the tax.