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Budget 2022: Experts exhort Centre to regulate crypto trades

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Even as Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the annual Budget on February 1, experts have called for regulation of cryptocurrencies and exhorted the government to treat them as capital assets with a “reasonable” tax regime.

While the sector has grown exponentially over the last few years in India with buying, selling of the digital currencies and altcoins and establishing cryptocurrency exchanges being legal, the government is yet to bring in a law that regulates the sector.

The government was expected to introduce a Bill titled “The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021” to regulate cryptocurrencies in the Winter session of the Parliament but did not do so. It is now expected to be tabled in the Parliament during the Budget session that starts on January 1 and ends on April 8.

Pratik Gauri, CEO, and Founder, 5ire said the government has a responsibility to protect people from investments that are sensationalized, and while risk-taking is every investor’s right, a measured hand where investment and holding parties responsible go hand-in-hand.

“Laissez-faire has never worked in populations where every rupee is hard-earned and we are a nation of hard-earners. Even in terms of governance, the Indian government is looking long and hard at accountability. So, taxation and regulation of investment falls under its purview and I think, thus far the government has done a remarkable job of balancing the need to encourage investment for innovation and the restriction on gaining from wild speculation,” he said.

He added that all gains from cryptocurrencies are taxed heavily across the globe and that asking to pay a fair share of taxes on the gains in crypto markets is just part of the puzzle.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while virtually addressing a summit of the World Economic Forum on January 17, had called for a synchronized global action to regulate cryptocurrencies. The Reserve Bank of India has publicly favored a ban on private cryptocurrencies. The crypto assets in India are currently estimated at around Rs 45,000 crore with about 15 million investors.

The risk in the widespread adoption of crypto is that poor AML and fraud practices are heavily present in the crypto exchange market. The reasons are multifold: Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) is not required on crypto exchanges or ATMs at this time.

Raj Kapoor, Founder – India Blockchain Alliance and Chief Growth Officer at Chainsense LTD, said an alignment with the FATF framework would also provide crypto for a clearer framework on performing AML compliance, and to prepare to use this to inform your risk assessment and procedures.

The Customer Due Diligence (CDD) scanner to detect customer identification, especially for scanning high-risk customers would then be in place as well.

Ravi S. Raghavan, Partner, Tax and Private Client Group at Majmudar & Partners says cryptos should be treated as capital assets and reasonable tax regime such as a levy of 18 per cent GST on fee collected by exchanges for enabling buying and selling cryptos; and Investor profits to be either taxed as – short term capital gains (for cryptos held for less than 36 months) at 30 per cent; or long term capital gains tax (for cryptos held for more than 36 months) at 20 per cent that is similar to trading and investment in securities.

“Reporting procedures in income tax returns and whether tax withholdings are applicable (beyond prescribed thresholds) should be explained in the form of an FAQ by the Central Board of Direct Taxes in due course to avoid any tax litigation,” he said.

He added that crypto trading should be considered by the government as speculative transactions and no losses arising from crypto sales be allowed to be carried forward and set off against other business profits or salary income of the concerned taxpayer.

Regulating cryptocurrencies by bringing it under the IT Act will make it a part of the investment choices and while most investors do not have a problem with taxation, they seek clarity and consistency of taxes.

“Anything that is banned never goes away, it just goes underground and the govt misses out on the tax revenues. Also regulating it would ensure that all loopholes are plugged and people don’t feel the need to evade taxes,” Kunal Verma director and creative head of Yunometa Pte limited said.

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Indian stock market ends in bullish tone over hopes of renewed FII inflows

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Mumbai, Dec 13: Indian equity benchmarks made marginal losses during the week amid sustained FII outflows and uncertainty surrounding the US-India trade negotiations.

However, the market ended the week in a bullish tone with Nifty surging 0.57 per cent on the last trading day after the US Federal Reserve announced a 25-bps rate cut.

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex dipped 0.36 and 0.17 per cent during the week to close at 26,046 and 85,267, respectively.

Indian equities opened the week on a subdued note, amid continued rupee depreciation and negative global cues due to rising Japanese bond yields.

The US Fed rate cut later in the week eased liquidity concerns and fuelled hopes of renewed FII inflows. With supportive central bank policies, steady domestic investments, and optimism over trade progress despite unclear timelines, benchmarks closed the week on a strong note.

India’s year-on-year inflation rate based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was estimated at 0.71 per cent for November this year which was marginally higher than the 0.25 per cent in October, according to figures released by the Ministry of Statistics.

Broader indices underperformed, with the Nifty Midcap100 and Smallcap100 down 0.51 per cent and 0.67 per cent, respectively, in a week.

Sectoral performance was mixed, with IT under pressure while PSU banks, real estate and consumer durables witnessed selective buying.

Hrishikesh Yedve, AVP Technical and Derivative Research, Asit C. Mehta Investment Interrmediates, said that Nifty’s weekly chart shows buying interest at lower levels.

Nifty has 26,200 and 26,325 as stiff resistance levels while 25,700 will act as support zone, he added.

Analysts said that markets will likely remain positive in near future but sensitive to rupee stability, FII flow trends, trade agreement clarity, and cues from major central banks abroad.

Amidst risks from currency fluctuations and global trade uncertainties, improving earnings visibility and liquidity support provide a constructive backdrop and downside protection, they added.

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Maharashtra on path to becoming GCC hub: CM Fadnavis

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Nagpur, Dec 12: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday announced that a crucial milestone has been achieved in the journey to establish Maharashtra as a GCC (Global Capability Centre) Hub.

He said that the Brookfield company is set to build Asia’s largest Global Capability Centre (GCC) in Mumbai, spanning approximately 2 million square feet.

The Chief Minister said that this project is expected to generate a total of 45,000 jobs, including 15,000 direct and 30,000 indirect jobs.

He stated that due to the state’s talent pool, infrastructure, and industry-friendly environment, Maharashtra is becoming a preferred destination for Global Capability Centres.

“The new GCC policy will lead to large-scale skill-based job creation and economic growth,” he added.

He also mentioned that FedEx, a global leader in the logistics sector, is keen to invest in its GCC and other operations near the Mumbai-Navi Mumbai airport area, said the government release.

The Chief Minister informed that he requested Microsoft to consider Maharashtra for their investments, noting that their largest existing investment is already in the state.

He expressed confidence that Microsoft will make a major investment in the future and take the lead in making Maharashtra an Artificial Intelligence (AI) centre.

The Chief Minister said that Maharashtra’s model for crime control with the help of Artificial Intelligence is a guiding light for the entire country.

Chief Minister Fadnavis confirmed that Microsoft has assured priority to Maharashtra in their largest ever investment in India, amounting to $17 billion.

He further highlighted the ‘Marble’ platform developed by Maharashtra, which helps detect cyber and financial crimes in just 24 hours instead of 3-4 months.

He said that this has resulted in saving people’s money and has expedited the process of tracking criminals.

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India’s CPI inflation estimated at 0.71 pc for Nov, food inflation stays in negative zone

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New Delhi, Dec 12: India’s year-on-year inflation rate, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), was estimated at 0.71 per cent for November this year which was marginally higher than the 0.25 per cent in October, according to figures released by the Ministry of Statistics on Friday.

Food inflation stayed in the negative zone during November at (-) 3.91 per cent as prices of food goods fell compared to the same month of the previous year. Food inflation has now stayed negative for the sixth month in a row, easing the burden on household budgets.

However, the increase in headline inflation during November 2025 is mainly attributed to an increase in the inflation of vegetables, eggs, meat and fish, spices, and fuels compared to October, according to an official statement.

The retail inflation had eased further in October, after having plummeted to an over 8-year low of 1.54 per cent in September, as prices of food items and goods across sectors fell during the month.

The declining trend in food prices continued in October as food inflation fell deeper in the negative zone at (-) 5.02 per cent from (-) 2.28 per cent in September.

However, the overall outlook for inflation remains benign.

The RBI’s monetary policy committee (MPC) last week slashed its forecast for India’s inflation rate for the financial year 2025-26 to 2 per cent from 2.6 per cent predicted in October due to the sharp decline in food prices and the GST rate cuts playing out.

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra announced a reduction in the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.25 per cent from 5.5 per cent earlier, as inflation had come down and the monetary policy could focus on boosting growth.

Malhotra said that the surge in economic growth to 8.2 per cent in the second quarter of the current financial year and the sharp decline in inflation to 1.7 per cent had provided a rare “Goldilocks period” for the Indian economy.

“The MPC noted that headline inflation has eased significantly and is likely to be softer than the earlier projections, primarily on account of the exceptionally benign food prices. Reflecting these favourable conditions, the projections for average headline inflation in 2025-26 and Q1:2026-27 have been further revised downwards.”

Malhotra also pointed out that core inflation (which excludes food and fuel) remained largely contained in September-October, despite continued price pressures exerted by precious metals. Excluding gold, core inflation moderated to 2.6 per cent in October. Overall, the decline in inflation has become more generalised, he added.

The RBI Governor observed that food supply prospects have improved on the back of higher kharif production, healthy rabi sowing, adequate reservoir levels and conducive soil moisture. Barring some metals, international commodity prices are likely to moderate going forward.

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