First the Finance Minister of India "Arun Jaitley" calls out an outright ban on all cryptocurrency and many bank accounts trading with cryptocurrency were closed or blocked with a freeze on crypto trading in the country. A week later he sends out 100,000 tax notices to cryptocurrency investors. What?
"The government does not consider crypto currencies as legal tender or coin and (will) take all measures to eliminate the use of crypto assets...," he said while presenting the Union Budget 2018-19 in the Lok Sabha.
Read more: https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/crypto-currencies-not-legal-will-eliminate-their-use-arun-jaitley/62738934
In a statement, Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Committee of India, the newly formed industry body representing crypto-currency exchanges, said: “The recent knee-jerk actions by a few banks in terms of closing bank accounts of some cryptocurrency exchanges have led to hardship to these citizens.”
Read more: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-and-banking/investors-in-a-bind-as-banks-pull-the-plug-on-bitcoin-accounts/article22545347.ece
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will move to stamp out use of cryptocurrencies, which it considers illegal, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday, launching a no-holds-barred attack on virtual currencies such as Bitcoin.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-budget-cryptocurrency/india-vows-to-eliminate-use-of-cryptocurrencies-idUSKBN1FL56T
Bitcoin BAN: India rocks cryptocurrency by OUTLAWING digital currencies from system
INDIA is planning to make cryptocurrencies illegal to prevent the cryptocurrency from ever entering the country’s mainstream financial system, a finance ministry official has said.
Read more: https://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/914799/bitcoin-india-cryptocurrency-finance-minister-Arun-Jaitley-Ponzi-scheme
“The government does not consider crypto-currencies legal tender or coin and will take all measures to eliminate use of these cryptoassets in financing illegitimate activities or as part of the payment system,” Jaitley said at paragraph 112 of the speech.
Read more: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/02/02/india_to_ban_cryptocurrency/
Banks may freeze our rupee accounts but no one can freeze our bitcoin accounts. If required, we will move out of India, go global.
Read more: http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/ignorance-driving-the-state-to-clamp-down-on-crypto-exchanges-mohit-kalra/article22705455.ece
Budget 2018: Arun Jaitley does talk about bitcoins but the confusion remains.
Read more: https://www.indiatoday.in/union-budget-2018/story/budget-2018-arun-jaitley-does-talk-about-bitcoins-but-the-confusion-remains-1159137-2018-02-01
Budget speech delivered:
http://www.indiabudget.gov.in/ub2018-19/bs/bs.pdf
The chairman of India’s Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Sushil Chandra, stated yesterday that many cryptocurrency investors “did not pay advance tax” gains accrued through virtual currency exposure. “We have issued notices (to investors) and they (many of them) have agreed to pay taxes. We will definitely take taxes as far as the money is concerned which is invested (in bitcoins trade) and is unexplained,” Mr. Chandra said.
Read more: https://news.bitcoin.com/indias-finance-minister-confirms-crypto-not-recognized-legal-tender-media-panics/
“You see, the Finance Minister and the RBI have both clarified that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender,” the CEO of one of India’s cryptocurrency exchanges said on the condition of anonymity. “This means that you cannot use it in place of the rupee. But he did not say anything about investing in it as an asset. This action by the tax department is only against those who made investments but did not declare in their returns. It would have been the same if they had invested in any other asset and didn’t declare it.”
Read more: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/i-t-department-sends-one-lakh-notices-to-cryptocurrency-investors/article22693391.ece
In an exclusive interview, executives at Coinsecure, Unocoin and Zebpay, the most widely utilized cryptocurrency trading platforms in the country with millions of users, unanimously stated that the document released by the Ministry of Finance was misinterpreted. The India Ministry of Finance reaffirmed that it intends to ban the usage of cryptocurrencies in financial crimes and illicit activities, but not ban cryptocurrencies in general. It is important to acknowledge that the use of cash or any currency in financial crimes is banned.
Read more: https://cointelegraph.com/news/interview-with-indias-three-largest-exchanges-cryptocurrency-ban-rumors-are-fud