New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced a 28% tax on online gaming, effective from October 1. The announcement was made by the minister after the GST Council meeting.
The decision to impose a 28% tax on the full face value of bets placed on online games will be implemented from October 1, despite demands for a review from states like Delhi and Goa, said finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The GST Council, composed of the Union finance minister and representatives from all states, discussed the necessary amendments to enable the taxation of online gaming, according to Sitharaman.
In the previous meeting, the panel decided to impose a 28% GST on the full face value of bets placed, and today’s meeting was held to deliberate on the tax law changes required to implement this decision.
Sitharaman stated that the finance minister of Delhi opposed the tax on online gaming, while Goa and Sikkim preferred a levy on the gross gaming revenue (GGR) instead of the face value.
However, other states, ranging from Karnataka to Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh, advocated for the implementation of the decision made in the previous meeting.
Once the necessary changes are made to the central and state laws, the new tax will likely come into effect from October 1, Sitharaman stated.
She also added that there will be a review of the tax after six months of its implementation.