The Goods and Services Tax (GST) department has raided the WazirX office and found GST evasion worth Rs 40.5 crore. WazirX has then fined Rs 49.20 crore for evading legal taxes.
WazirX cryptocurrency exchange is managed by Zanmai Labs Private Limited Ltd. and cryptocurrency WRX is owned by Binance Investment. WazirX lets investors trade in Rupee or WRX both. The company was paying GST only on commission earned in rupee but was not paying GST on commission earned in WRX.
The company claims that it had no intention of tax evasion. There was an ambiguity in the interpretation of one of its components. Adding that into GST led to a different calculation of GST.
“The Taxpayer was paying GST only on commission earned in rupee but was not paying GST on commission earned in WRX. A GST at the rate of 18% is applicable on these transaction fees. GST of Rs 40.5 crore was not paid, which was paid along with interest and penalty on December 30, 21. Total Rs 49.20 crore have been recovered on the spot from the WazirX,” said the agency in a statement.
After the calculation at a rate of 18%, it was found that the tax worth Rs 40.5 crore wasn’t paid. Along with interest and penalty, the authority received Rs 49.2 crore from the company.
GST department is now actively monitoring businesses like e-commerce, online gaming, non-fungible tokens to identify thee possible tax evasion.
