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Betting & gambling may attract higher GST rate says Revenue Secretary

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Union Revenue Secretary Dr. Hasmukh Adhia in an interview to the Indian Express today stated that activities such as betting and gambling could attract  Goods & Services (GST) tax rate higher than 18 per cent.

Adhia noted that while most services could attract a GST rate of 18 per cent, services which at present along with Value Added Tax, Entertainment Tax and other taxes  have a combined tax incidence of more than 20 per cent or 28 per cent will attract a higher rate of taxation than 18 per cent.

“We’ll see if there are any such services which are to be charged at higher than 18 per cent. We are yet to study the betting model and the gambling model. There are taxes on those also. We don’t know what is the existing (total) entertainment tax and VAT on these activities” said Adhia.

Adhia also said that the item-wise rate structure under the new GST regime would be done in May or even closer to the expected roll-out date of 1st July, 2017 to avoid arbitrage opportunities. He however added that the final decision in this regard will be taken by the GST Council.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is touted as the single-biggest indirect tax reform in India which will subsume a large number of state and central taxes and levies, including all taxes on gambling, betting, lotteries and other kinds of games, including skill games.

Last year, the Parliament passed the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act to enable implementation of GST within one year. A few days ago, the Lok Sabha passed four GST Bills to ensure smooth roll-out of the new taxation regime.

Jay has researched extensively on gaming laws and has been cited by various media houses and journals as an expert. He has helped leading newspapers in their stories on gaming laws. Jay completed his B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) degree from NUJS, Kolkata in 2015 and is currently based out of Mumbai.

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Bharat Agarwalla

    April 2, 2017 at 2:21 pm

    If they put a GST of 20 or 28% and also place a income tax of 30% which cannot be set off with related expenses or losses then the industry will die a natural death. TDS will need to be relaxed along with proviso to set off with losses and expenses.

  2. karthik

    April 8, 2017 at 1:08 am

    i recommend to poker casino skill games to be legal in india and why people should go n play in foreign sites. if it legal indians play here and tax also comes here and watever tax central govt announce they should pay both winner and gambling agencies. it wil b good. sports bet i dont hav any idea about it. but casino table games people even i seen many people playing in foreign sites. i recommend to rake a step asap to do fr this. allow casino in india atleast in online wil b profitable. make a decision fast. already rummy circle adds coming in tv everywhere.

  3. Raj Shahani

    June 8, 2017 at 1:33 am

    Hello Bharat,

    The GST will be applicable to the business owner on the rake it generates. Also the business will pay GST charged by the affiliates when the submit their invoices at the end of the month. The GST paid would be setoff with GST on Rake earned.

    The tournament fees if charged would attract GST.

    The income tax paid by the business depends on the balance sheet of the business house.

    The TDS deduction at the point of cashing out more than 9999/- will be paid by the player or if the business owner gives a TDS discount it would go in as the business owner’s operating expenses.

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