GST Council meeting was held on Monday, following which Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while quoting a status report submitted to the fitment committee, announced that the government has seen a 412 per cent jump in revenue due to the GST hike that was imposed on the online gaming industry. The Union Finance Minister said, "Revenue from online gaming has increased 412 per cent reaching ₹6,909 crore in six months."
News agency ANI quoted Sitharaman as saying. "The 54th meeting of GST Council took several decisions. The Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation and the GoM on real estate submitted status reports today. Status on online gaming and casinos was submitted. Revenue from online gaming has increased by 412% at Rs 6,909 cr in 6 months."
Sitharaman added that the revenues of casinos jumped by 30 per cent.
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Online Gaming GST Hike
In the 50th GST meeting held in July 2023, online games—both skill-based and chance-based—were placed under the 28 percent GST bracket, with the new rate taking effect from October 1, 2023. Previously, skill-based games were taxed at 18 percent.
This tax is in addition to the existing tax on winnings from gaming tournaments, whether in cash or as gift prizes. Under income tax law, these winnings are categorized as income from online games and taxed at 30 percent under the 'Income from Other Sources' category.
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted India's gaming potential during his Independence Day speech, stating, "I am seeing a big market that has come up in the field of gaming, but even today, the gaming world has a big foreign impact in terms of producing the games and earning revenues. India has a big heritage in the area and we can bring lots of new talent to the world of gaming.”