Delhi Finance Minister and GST Council member Atishi Marlena Singh has voiced her support for the online real money gaming companies after they claimed that the recent decision of the Council to impose 28% GST on full face value will destroy the real money gaming industry.
According to her recent Tweet today, Atishi shared that she had met with certain online gaming industry representatives yesterday to further understand their concerns and the consequences of the Council’s decision.
Last month the @GST_Council decided to impose a 28% tax on Online Gaming. Many entrepreneurs and investors from the start-up ecosystem opposed this decision, as they felt that it would destroy this fast growing industry.
Yesterday I met several representatives from the Online… pic.twitter.com/QAZFu4wrOi
— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) August 2, 2023
Atishi further stated that she would ask the Council to reconsider its decision at today’s GST Council meeting as she believes that promoting start-ups and entrepreneurship is the only way to grow the economy.
In another Tweet today, she thanked Ashneer Grover for putting forward the problems associated with the Council’s decision and reiterated the above promise and stance.
The comments on her Tweet were mixed with some praising her while several others claiming the decision by the GST Council was correct.
The GST Council will be meeting again today to decide if the tax is to be levied on the initial deposit or every contest entry amount under the full face value taxation method.
Online gaming companies have requested time and again to reconsider the decision and levy the tax on gross gaming revenue (GGR), but as per revenue secretary Sanjay Malhotra, the decision to levy GST on full face value amount is final.
The online gaming industry is waiting with bated breath as to what the GST Council would decide today. The decision is expected to come in the evening.