Last week, income tax department surveyed the major bitcoin exchanges in India. The survey reports said, this was done to collect information about transactions and check whether there was a risk of tax evasion. This week, it was reported that the income tax department is set to issue notices to about 5,00,000 high net worth individuals trading on the exchange across India. This comes at a time when there are still no clear regulations on cryptocurrencies and bitcoin exchanges.
Although the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) advises caution on its use, bitcoin is not illegal in India. Cryptocurrency exchanges operate freely and hence we can say that bitcoin is legal. So, if it is a legal entity, why is there silence on its regulation? Also, who is responsible for regulating it?
