For representational purposes (Express Illustrations)
BENGALURU: Zanmai Labs Pvt. Ltd, which manages crypto exchange WazirX, on Monday said that it has been diligently paying tens of crores worth of GST every month.
The statement comes three days after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) department detected a GST evasion worth `40.5 crore by the cryptocurrency exchange WazirX.
“There was an ambiguity in the interpretation of one of the components which led to a different calculation of GST paid. However, we voluntarily paid additional GST in order to be cooperative and compliant. There was and is no intention to evade tax,” Zanmai Labs spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that they strongly believe that regulatory clarity is the need of the hour for the Indian crypto industry.
“It will also provide us with more clarity on taxation so that we can work in sync with the lawmakers, and continue to be a responsible industry player,” the spokesperson said, adding that these queries are common industry practices for all businesses.
“We clarified their doubts and also voluntarily paid the GST to clear their dues,” the spokesperson further added. WazirX has been witnessing record trading volume.
The crypto exchange also crossed a user base of 10 million. Commenting about this GST evasion, Manav Bajaj, Founder Panther Quant said, “Tax is a law enforcement matter and WazirX has already issued a statement.”
Sathvik Vishwanath, Co-Founder and CEO of Unocoin said the GST collection is seen very much in a positive light by the industry.
“This is giving clarity on how the GST is seeing cryptos and the services from exchanges. The GST department has visited us as well and is presently collecting the reports from us to evaluate if there are any differences in how we have calculated these taxes,” he added.
