Skip to main content

Black money SIT reviews use of cryptocurrencies; directs clampdown

By
Black money SIT reviews use of cryptocurrencies; directs clampdown
The RBI had come out with three specific warnings to discourage the public from investing in the virtual currenciesThe Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money has asked probe agencies to check and curb the use of cryptocurrencies as it reviewed their operation and circulation in the country and links to shady offshore transactions.
Officials said the SIT recently held a meeting in the national capital during which it was briefed about the overall scenario of the operations of this virtual currency in the country.The SIT, official sources said, called cryprocurrencies like bitcoins "illegal" and asked probe agencies such as the Income Tax Department, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to detect and stop their usage and check transactions being done over the Internet, including those with cross-border ramifications.
The panel, they said, would also prepare a report that would be submitted to the government in sometime."The government is the final authority to frame rules and law to regulate these virtual currencies and the SIT would provide its report to it on the subject," a senior official said.
During the meeting, the NCB informed the SIT that about four cryptocurrency-fuelled drugs smuggling transactions have been unearthed in the country in the last over two years time while the tax department informed the panel about the searches it conducted on bitcoin exchanges across the country last year.
A report prepared by the banking regulator - the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) - was also taken up during the meeting, they said.Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his speech on February 1, had said that cryptocurrencies were not legal and affirmed to eliminate their usage.The RBI, in the past, has come out with three specific warnings to discourage the public from investing in the virtual currencies.
A government-appointed panel constituted to study the subject and suggest measures to tackle it had submitted its report to the Union Finance Ministry early this year.
The Supreme Court-appointed SIT on black money was notified by the government in 2014 and is headed by Justice (retd) M B Shah and has multiple central probe, enforcement and regulatory agencies as its member.
The Business Standard, New Delhi, 09th April 2018

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Data storage norm splits digital payments industry

By
Data storage norm splits digital payments industry  India’s nascent digital payment industry could be thrown into disarray due to the demand by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that all user data be stored within the country, fears an industry grouping, which has termed the decision as “heavy-handed”, even as others, including the country’s largest digital payment provider Paytm, have hailed the move.  In a bid to narrow the growing schism, the industry is planning to send a formal representation to the regulator highlighting its concerns, a top official told ET.  “We are trying to build a consensus on the issue," said the person adding that the representation to the central bank will be ready this week.  RBI on April 6, mandated all payment companies—global and local—to set up data storage facilities within India by October. The stringent six-month deadline has attracted the ire of several sections of the industry that fear it will lead to a disruption of wel...
18 comments
Read more

Sebi to finalise options in commodities today

By
The Commodity Derivatives Advisory Committee of the Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Sebi) will meet on Friday with senior officials of the latter, to give a final shape to the rules on options trading in commodity futures, beside revising the warehousing norms to ensure good delivery on settlement. The decision taken, after discussing with the advisory committee, will be placed before the regulator’s board, to finalise the regulations. According to knowledgeable sources, three commodities in each segment, agricultural and non- agricultural, have been proposed for introducing options. It appears commodities from the soya and guar segments are preferred in the former. From the non- agri segment, it is likely that gold, silver and crude oil will be finalised. All these These have better liquidity and both the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange and the Multi Commodity Exchange, respectively, will be able to introduce the options. In the equity segments, options ar...
17 comments
Read more

E tailers global warehouses may come under tax net

By
E tailers  global warehouses may come under tax net Warehouses of e-commerce companies based in countries such as Australia, Japan, Italy,  Spain, the Netherlands, and Russia may not be exempted from paying the income tax in India  once the multilateral instrument (MLI) to prevent base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS)  comes into force. BEPS refers to the reporting framework mooted by the Organisation for Economic  Co-operation and Development (OECD) and signed by over 100 countries, including India, to  prevent exploiting gaps and mismatches in tax rules to shift profits by multinational  companies (MNCs) artificially to low-tax regimes. The representatives of 68 countries on June 7 this year signed an agreement (MLI) in Paris  to amend their tax treaties to bring them in alignment with measures to prevent BEPS.  However, there is still time for synchronising tax treaties with the multilateral  instrument. India has submitte...
17 comments
Read more