Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday GST Council is deliberating on the taxation policy for online gaming and has expressed confidence that the sector will attract investment once it is finalised.
She was answering a question from a Korean gaming company crafton What are India’s plans to attract foreign investment in gaming companies?
The minister said that various aspects of online gaming, including taxation and regulation, are under discussion at the ministerial level in the GST Council.
The Goods and Services Tax Council is chaired by Sitharaman and includes the finance ministers of the states.
Addressing the diaspora in Seoul, Sitharaman said, “Once there is policy certainty, taxation will become more clear, it will attract investors.”
online gaming The boom was witnessed during the time of Covid lockdown, the number of users in India increased significantly. According to a report by KPMG, the online gaming sector will grow to Rs 29,000 crore by 2024-25 from Rs 13,600 crore in 2021.
The contentious issue of levying Goods and Services Tax (GST) on online games has been hanging fire for almost two years now with several states seeking to reduce the tax rate on online games that require skill. He is of the opinion that games of skill should not be equated with games of chance.
The final decision on taxation on online gaming is expected to be taken by the GST Council in its next meeting, which is likely to be held this month or in June.
last month the ministry of electronics and IT notified norms for the online gaming sector, which expressly prohibited betting and all such games involving stakes.
The online gaming sector will follow a self-regulation model and initially notify three self-regulatory organizations (SROs) that will approve the games that can operate in the country as per the rules.
Responding to Crafton’s question, Sitharaman said on a lighter note that she likes to watch memes and animations from Japan and Korea.
He said, “I would love for them to come to India…the mastery with which the story is told, there is so much positivity…that’s what we want for adults today.” PTI DP JD CS correspondent is in Seoul on the invitation of Asian Development Bank (ADB).
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)