Crypto assets to be included in assessing undisclosed income, says Sitharaman in Budget

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has suggested defining 'virtual digital asset' as undisclosed income to strengthen cryptocurrency regulations.

Updated on: Feb 1, 2025, 13:58:00 IST

By HT News Desk

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech has proposed that “virtual digital asset” should be included in defining undisclosed income, the latest step by the government to tighten oversight of cryptocurrencies. This move comes amid several reports of unregulated cryptocurrency being used to hide illegal transactions.

Representational photo of bitcoin, the most-popular cryptocurency. (Bloomberg)

"It is proposed to add the term 'virtual digital asset' to the said definition of undisclosed income of the block period," the Budget document said.

"The time-limit for completion of block assessment is proposed to be made as twelve months from end of the quarter in which the last of the authorisations for search or requisition has been executed," it added.

The move comes 2 years after India imposed money laundering provisions on the cryptocurrency sector. The Finance Ministry said in a notice that anti-money laundering legislation has been applied to crypto trading, safekeeping and related financial services.

India also has stringent tax rules on the crypto sector, including applying a levy on trading.

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