New Delhi: The government aims to collect an amount of Rs 14,000 crore through the goods and services tax (GST) in the next fiscal year by imposing taxes on online gambling companies as stated by Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra to Reuters on Saturday.
In October the government introduced a 28 percent tax on the funds received by gaming companies from their customers for each bet. This move caused some impact on the growing industry worth Rs 12,500 crore, which has garnered support from investors. The government justified this action citing concerns about addiction.
Malhotra disclosed that this tax is expected to generate around Rs 7,500 crore in the fiscal year ending on March 31 marking a significant increase compared to last years collection of Rs 1,600 crore. He added that between October and December alone this tax has already generated Rs 3,500 crore.
While acknowledging the industrys stabilization Malhotra advised against drawing conclusions at this early stage. A comprehensive evaluation of the framework for taxing gambling companies is scheduled for April; however he emphasized that it does not necessarily mean changes will be made to the tax rates.
Highlighting a financial perspective Malhotra shared that the governments overall GST collections have averaged around Rs 1.70 lakh crore, per month.
In terms of the future he shared an outlook expecting an average monthly collection between Rs 1.80 lakh crore and 1.85 lakh crore, in the upcoming fiscal year.
—Input from Agencies