DGGI investigating 658 gambling companies, reports Rs 82k crore tax evasion by online 'gaming' companies
Meanwhile, the GST department has collected Rs 2,675 crore from 574 offshore entities offering digital services to Indian entities in FY24.
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The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has detected 6,084 cases of tax evasion totaling Rs 2.01 lakh crore in the financial year 2023-24. According to its annual report, real-money online gaming companies are the largest tax evaders, responsible for Rs 82,000 crore, which constitutes 41% of the total Rs 2 lakh crore evasion uncovered this year.
The DGGI Annual Report states that actions have been taken against 118 domestic online gaming companies, with Show Cause Notices issued to 34 taxpayers, involving tax amounts of Rs 1,10,531.91 crore. The GST department is investigating 658 offshore online gambling companies
Meanwhile, the GST department has collected Rs 2,675 crore from 574 offshore entities offering digital services to Indian entities in FY24. This revenue from offshore entities has risen from Rs 80 crore in FY 2017-18 to Rs 2,675 crore in FY24.
The report highlights companies such as Udemy Inc. (USA), Canva Pty (Australia), OVH Group (France), and Blackboard (Netherlands) as those who registered with the DGGI's efforts and fulfilled significant tax liabilities. However, the DGGI notes that some entities remain uncooperative and seem to intentionally avoid tax compliance.
These offshore companies include various online casinos based in tax havens like Malta, Cyprus, Curacao, and the British Virgin Islands. Other entities are difficult to trace, as they operate through VPNs or cloud-based platforms.
The detection of GST evasion by the DGGI has been steadily increasing since the implementation of GST in 2017. In 2017-18, Rs 7,879 crore was detected, followed by Rs 19,319 crore in 2018-19, Rs 21,739 crore in 2019-20, Rs 31,908 crore in 2020-21, and Rs 50,325 crore in 2021-22.
