The Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities have requested the Ministry of Information Technology (MeitY) to block 60 offshore online gaming platforms in an effort to limit entities that do not comply with India’s GST registration laws.
According to an official familiar with the situation, details of these platforms were submitted to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in late March.
Additionally, these entities join the 110 gaming platforms already under similar scrutiny, as disclosed by an anonymous official who spoke to NDTV Profit.
Earlier, it was reported that the government had already blocked over 60 platforms for non-compliance nearly a month ago. Initially, this list comprised 110 platforms, with the remaining ones under investigation by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, the same official confirmed.
This Centre operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs and is responsible for combating cybercrime.
The decision to block these platforms aligns with the 51st Goods and Service Tax Council’s directive, which mandated offshore gaming platforms in India to register and pay a 28% GST on their earnings. Non-compliant platforms can be subject to blocking under this law.
Given the dynamic nature of these platforms, with URLs frequently changing, tackling offshore online gaming platforms has become a challenging endeavor for authorities, likened to a game of whack-a-mole.
This enforcement effort is expected to continue indefinitely, according to the official.
The online gaming sector has significantly contributed to government revenues since the imposition of the 28% GST. Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra, in an interview with NDTV Profit post the interim budget, mentioned that revenue from online gaming companies was projected at Rs 1,600 crore in the last fiscal year.
However, with the implementation of the 28% GST, revenue for the current fiscal year is estimated to be around Rs 13,000-14,000 crore.
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