India's Tax Department Is Sending Notices to Crypto Investors

An Indian tax official has said that gains from cryptocurrency investment are subject to tax liability and that it will seek those trying to avoid paying up.

During an event on Tuesday this week, Sushil Chandra, chairman of India's Central Board of Direct Tax (CBDT) confirmed that around 100,000 notices have been sent to residents who have not included their cryptocurrency investment on income tax returns.

According to Chandra, the notices were sent by the department's law enforcement units across the country to ensure cryptocurrency investors are aware of their tax liabilities.

Chandra said:

"People who have made investments [in cryptocurrencies] and have not declared income while filing taxes and have not paid tax on the profit earned by investing, we are sending them notices as we feel that it is all taxable."

The latest statement from India's tax department comes as confirmation to a previous report saying that tax notices were sent to investors after a nationwide survey has discovered some $3.5 billion-worth of cryptocurrency being traded in a 17-month period.

According to Chandra, his agency has conducted several surveys on domestic exchanges in an effort to gather information about regular traders, including "how many people are regular contributors, how many have registered themselves and how many have done trading."

Based on the surveys' results, the agency said investors that were sent notices had failed to properly and clearly disclose the holding of their cryptocurrency investment.

Bitcoin and Indian rupee image via Shutterstock