As India works on the bill to regulate cryptocurrencies, each government department has its own opinion on whether to ban the use of crypto, including bitcoin. The Finance Ministry, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Income Tax Department, and the Special Investigation Team have voiced their opinions on the upcoming bill.
Also read: Russian Regulators Draft Law to Restrict Crypto Mining, Payments, and Token Sales
No Consensus Among Regulators
India is preparing a bill on the regulation of cryptocurrency. “The bill has been drafted and consultation has been started with the concerned agency,” the Navbharat Times reported last week. The news outlet quoted sources explaining that the regulators are divided on whether to ban the use of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.
“The finance ministry is in favor of regulating [cryptocurrency],” sources said. The Income Tax Department, on the contrary, is not in favor of regulation, the news outlet conveyed, and quoted sources explaining:
The regulation of virtual currency is almost impossible and it promotes the use of black money.
The RBI “is also not in favor of banning virtual currencies,” but sources pointed out that “the current form of the bill proposes to ban virtual currency businesses.” However, there may be exemptions for “issuing crypto tokens in exchange for assets.”
Meanwhile, the Indian Special Investigation Team (SIT) “wants to ban the use of bitcoins” after discovering at least four cases where the digital currency was used to pay for drugs, the Sunday Guardian reported. The SIT comprises of officials from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Income Tax Department.
The SIT has previously asked the ED, NCB and the Income Tax Department “to take adequate measures to
