The Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill and Integrated Goods and Services (Amendment) Bill proposing the 28% GST rate on online gaming, casinos and horse racing was passed in the Lok Sabha on August 11th 2023. The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the bill today.
The CGST Amendment bill incorporated Section 80A and 80B, providing definitions for Online gaming and Online money gaming. The enactment will take effect upon its publication in the official gazette and as per the specified dates indicated in the respective sections.
Definition of Online Gaming as per proposed CGST Bill under Section 80A:
“online gaming” means offering of a game on the internet or an electronic network and includes online money gaming.
Definition of Online Money Gaming as per proposed CGST Bill under Section 80B:
“online money gaming” means online gaming in which players pay or deposit money or money’s worth, including virtual digital assets, in the expectation of winning money or money’s worth, including virtual digital assets, in any event including game, scheme, competition or any other activity or process, whether or not its outcome or performance is based on skill, chance or both and whether the same is permissible or otherwise under any other law for the time being in force.
Also, the new bill listed the actionable claims in newly inserted Section 102(A) – Specified actionable claim” means the actionable claim involved in or by way of—
Further, in clause o Section (105), the following proviso shall be inserted at the end, namely:—
“Provided that a person who organises or arranges, directly or indirectly, supply of specified actionable claims, including a person who owns, operates or manages digital or electronic platform for such supply, shall be deemed to be a supplier of such actionable claims, whether such actionable claims are supplied by him or through him and whether consideration in money or money’s worth, including virtual digital assets, for supply of such actionable claims is paid or conveyed to him or through him or placed at his disposal in any manner, and all the provisions of this Act shall apply to such supplier of specified actionable claims, as if he is the supplier liable to pay the tax in relation to the supply of
such actionable claims;”
Also, in the principal Act, that is Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, in Schedule III, in paragraph 6, for the words “lottery, betting and gambling” the words “specified actionable claims” shall be substituted.
Support our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates
