Govt registered 158 Cases against Online Gaming Company for alleged GST Evasion of more than Rs.1.53 Lakh Crore from 2017 to 2025:

Govt registered 158 Cases against Online Gaming Company for alleged GST Evasion of more than Rs.1.53 Lakh Crore from 2017 to 2025 The Finance Ministry informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that 158 cases that included GST dues of Rs.1.53 lakh crore had been registered till January. In a written response, Minister of State in the Finance Ministry Pankaj Chaudhary stated that 91 show-cause notices were issued to gaming companies between July 2017 and January 2025. These total over Rs.1.44 lakh crore. These notices were given because the government has decided that online gaming will be subject to a 28% GST rate beginning July 1, 2017. Gaming companies oppose this decision. "According to the GST Council's recommendations, the supply of actionable claims in online money gaming is valued based on the amount paid or payable to or deposited with the supplier (initial deposit) by or on behalf of the player (excluding the amount entered into games/bets from previous game/bet winnings). According to the GST Council's recommendations, 'online money gaming' is classified as a 'specified actionable claim' and subject to a 28% GST rate," Chaudhary stated. When asked about the total tax revenue collected from online gaming companies, including real money gaming and e-Sports, since 2017, Chaudhary stated that because there is no business code in the 'nature of business' field of the Income Tax Return (ITR) for online gaming companies, details of the taxes paid by such companies cannot be obtained from the ITR filed by such companies. "Under GST, there is no separate tariff item or service code for the supply of online gaming, including real money gaming and e-Sports," he stated. Meanwhile, on March 18, the Supreme Court is set to hear a bundle of petitions challenging show-cause notices given to gaming companies. In January. It stayed show cause notices for 50 online gaming companies and casinos worth over Rs.1 lakh crore. In the same decision, it guaranteed that these notices would not become time-barred during litigation.