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India plans to discuss crypto regulations during its G20 presidency with member countries. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has revealed that the Indian government hopes to come up with a framework or standard operating procedure (SOP) so that countries globally “can have a technology-driven regulatory framework” for crypto.
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shared the government’s plan regarding crypto regulation on Saturday before wrapping up her trip to Washington, DC, to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, PTI reported.
The finance minister told a group of Indian reporters that crypto will be part of India’s agenda during the G20 presidency. Noting that different organizations are doing their own research on cryptocurrency, she said:
We definitely want to bring all of this together and do some study and then bring it to the table at the G20 so that the members can discuss it and hopefully come up with a framework or SOP so that countries globally can have a technology-driven regulatory framework.
“But implicit in this is that we don’t want the technology to be disrupted,” Sitharaman stressed. “We want the technology to survive and also be in a position where fintech and other sectors can take advantage of it.”
The finance minister then referred the Enforcement Directorate (ED) which detects money laundering activity involving crypto assets and crypto trading platforms in India.
“This concern has actually been acknowledged by several members of the G20 who said yes to money laundering, yes to money laundering, yes to drug abuse, and so on,” Sitharaman continued, concluding:
There is an understanding that we must have some form of regulation, and that all the countries must be truthful together about it. No country will be able to handle it easily. So we will certainly have something on that.
The G20 is an intergovernmental forum for the world’s most important developed and developing economies. Member countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and European Union (EU) . India will assume the presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1 to November 30, 2023.
After sitting on a draft crypto law for several years, the Indian government is reportedly working to finalize its position on the legality of cryptocurrency by the first quarter of next year to become compliant with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Last month, the Finance Minister called on the IMF to take a leading role in the regulation of cryptocurrency. The IMF said it is ready to work with India on crypto regulation.
While India has yet to establish a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency, the country already taxes crypto income at 30% in addition to charging 1% withholding tax (TDS) on crypto transactions. Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance is reportedly working on how the goods and services tax (GST) can be applied to crypto.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) continues to have “serious concerns” regarding cryptocurrency. The central bank has repeatedly recommended a complete ban on all non-government issued cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether. However, the finance minister said in July: “Any legislation for regulation or for prohibition can only be effective after significant international cooperation on the evaluation of the risks and benefits and the development of common taxonomy and standards.”
What do you think about the comments made by India’s finance minister? Do you think India will finally have a regulatory framework for crypto? Let us know in the comments section below.
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