Review Of Online Gaming GST Likely To Happen After Lok Sabha Election

The review of the 28% Goods and Services Tax on online gaming will likely be done after the general elections as the council's meeting is expected to be delayed and held after the polls, according to an official with knowledge of the matter.

The model code of conduct is in force currently after the Election Commission of India announced the poll schedule. The Lok Sabha election will be held in seven phases over 44 days from April 19 and the counting of votes will be taken up on June 4.

In its August 2023 meeting, the GST Council had notified that it would review its levy of 28% GST on casinos, online gaming and horse racing in six months' time.

At the time of implementation from Oct. 1, 2023, there was also a mandate for registration of offshore gaming platforms, which could be blocked if they fail to register in accordance with the provisions of the Information Technology Act.

In line with the rules notified for the registration for offshore companies, the government has blocked over 60 platforms that had not complied with its mandate almost a month ago, the official said on the condition of anonymity.

More such blockages are underway, according to the official.

In a conversation with NDTV Profit after the interim budget, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra had said that after four months of implementation and three months of revenue collection, the government is seeing a five-time hike in revenue from the online gaming sector.

"In comparison, in the last three months preceding Oct. 1, we got revenues of only Rs 605 crore. So, this is a jump of five times and we now hope to get a revenue of about Rs 13,000–14,000 crore if we are able to maintain the same pace," Malhotra had said.

Revenue from online gaming companies in the last financial year was forecasted at Rs 1,600 crore, making the current fiscal's estimates an annual jump of Rs 12,000 crore, he had said.