Binance has also challenged a nearly $86 million tax notice issued by the Directorate General of Revenue Intelligence (DGGI) against Binance for charging users for conducting transactions in India between July 2017 and March 2024.
Catch the thief first and take the first shot at Binance
The DGGI’s mandate is to collect, collate and disseminate intelligence related to tax evasion and perform functions within the purview of the Ministry of Finance. DGGI has previously taken action against Indian exchanges, but Binance was the first to crack down on international exchanges.
In June 2024, Binance was fined approximately $2.2 million for failing to comply with Indian anti-money laundering rules in providing services to Indian customers, and the exchange later also received approval from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to become a registered entity.
However, tax notices do not necessarily result in penalties. Earlier this month, DGGI dropped some of its charges against the global technology company after Bengaluru-based Infosys challenged the claim.
DGGI specifically looking for crypto taxes
The average government official gives the impression of being untechnical and uninformed about cryptocurrencies, but DGGI is not your average tax official.
DGGI is India's finest technology institute and the team has been keeping a close eye on the cryptocurrency space and due to their technical background, has the ability to understand the evolving space. Taking into account the relatively complex nature of cryptocurrencies and their transactions. Since this is a completely new territory for tax agencies, this novelty and regulatory uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrencies (India is yet to finalize legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies) has led agencies to give exchanges more room to operate.
CZ went abroad for further studies, Binance only replied that it would cooperate with the tax authorities
Last November, Binance founder CZ Changpeng Zhao reached an agreement with the U.S. government. He pleaded guilty, paid $4.3 billion in damages, and was sentenced to four months in prison. He was sentenced to prison in early June this year and is expected to be released from prison in October this year. CZ, who is in jail, was unable to respond personally, so a Binance spokesperson responded via email: "We are currently reviewing the details of the notice and are fully cooperating with the Indian tax authorities." DGGI responded to the report No comment.
(Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has reported to federal prison to begin his four-month sentence)
This article India issued a high tax notice on Binance! The first international exchange to be fined appeared first on Chain News ABMedia.
