Indecisive Government Causes Bitcoin to Land in India's Supreme Court

Public Interest Litigation
A PIL (Public Interest Litigation) petition has been filed before the Indian Supreme Court, seeking it to issue directions to regulate the flow of Bitcoin and ensure that it is made accountable to the exchequer. The petitioner, Dwaipayan Bhowmick, said:

"It is submitted that certain countries have made Bitcoin subject to their respective tax regimes, while a few other countries have designated it as a commodity, thereby making Bitcoin subject to government regulation and accountable to exchequer but no such mechanism exists in India till date."

The petitioner also argued that regulatory organizations like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) were trying to shirk their responsibility with respect to regulating Bitcoin.

"It is further stated that RBI & SEBI have been trying to shift the onus on each other by asking it to be termed as "currency‟ or "commodity‟… Bare perusal of the said market price would reveal the large scale financial implications such crypto money could cause apart from anti-national activities like terror funding, money laundering, religious conversions, drug trafficking etc., etc."

India - Ambiguous Stance
While there are multiple Bitcoin exchanges like Coinsecure, Zebpay and Unocoin operating in India, the regulators have not come out with any guidelines for Bitcoin operations. The RBI has in the past (2013 and 2017) warned investors about the risks involved in investing in cryptocurrencies. A committee was set up to look into the issues surrounding digital currency, but its report has not been made public yet. Given the lack of clear guidelines, Bitcoin investors and exchanges operate in a regulatory vacuum in India.