- Companies pay the same flat 30% on income from transferring a VDA as individuals, with only the cost of acquisition deductible and no set-off or carry-forward of VDA losses.
- Other profit is taxed at the normal corporate rates: for tax year 2026-27 a domestic company pays 25% (turnover up to ₹400 crore in 2024-25) or 30%, or 22% under the optional regime of section 200, plus surcharge and 4% cess.
- Since 1 April 2021, companies must disclose their crypto holdings in their financial statements (Schedule III to the Companies Act, 2013).
- We found no circular from CBIC or the GST Council on GST and crypto itself. Central GST authorities have booked 17 crypto exchanges for GST evasion worth ₹824.14 crore (December 2024).
- A business that exchanges, transfers or holds crypto for others must register with FIU-IND as a reporting entity under the money-laundering law.
This page covers companies and other businesses that hold, trade or accept crypto in India. The rules for individuals are on personal tax, deadlines on filing and deadlines. It is general information, not tax advice.
Accounting for crypto
The Ministry of Finance told the Lok Sabha that companies with exposure to crypto-assets must disclose their holdings in their financial statements, under an amendment to Schedule III to the Companies Act, 2013 notified on 24 March 2021 and effective from 1 April 2021. It also said that crypto exchanges are not registered as such under the Companies Act. We found no Indian accounting standard written specifically for crypto in the official sources we checked.
For tax, a business reports each transfer in Schedule VDA of its return and chooses whether the income is business income or capital gains; the 30% rate applies either way (see filing).
Corporate income tax
Income from transferring a VDA is taxed at 30% for “any person”, so also for a company, under section 194(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (section 115BBH of the 1961 Act for 2025-26). Only the cost of acquisition is deductible, and a VDA loss cannot reduce other profit. The rest of the company’s profit is taxed at the normal rates:
| Company (tax year 2026-27) | Rate |
|---|---|
| Income from transferring a VDA | 30% |
| Domestic company with turnover or gross receipts up to ₹400 crore in tax year 2024-25 (section 199 regime) | 25% |
| Other domestic companies (section 199 regime) | 30% |
| Domestic company choosing section 200 | 22%, with a 10% surcharge |
| Company other than a domestic company | 35% (income at normal rates) |
| Surcharge, domestic company (section 199 regime) | 7% above ₹1 crore, 12% above ₹10 crore |
| Surcharge, foreign company | 2% above ₹1 crore, 5% above ₹10 crore |
| Health and education cess | 4% of tax plus surcharge |
The Budget memorandum says these rates are unchanged from the previous year. Whether the 22% regime of section 200 changes the rate on VDA income is not stated in the sources we checked; the VDA rule in section 194 applies “irrespective of anything contained in any other provision of this Act”.
When a business pays a resident for crypto, it must deduct 1% TDS. A business with turnover above ₹1 crore (or professional receipts above ₹50 lakh) in the previous year has the lower threshold of ₹10,000 a year (see TDS).
GST on crypto
India has a goods and services tax (GST) instead of VAT. We found no circular, notification or GST Council decision on how GST applies to crypto itself, for example to exchanging crypto for rupees, paying with crypto, or mining and staking (October 2026). What the government has said:
- In a Lok Sabha answer of 2 December 2024, the Ministry of Finance said that Central GST formations had investigated 17 crypto exchanges and detected GST evasion of ₹824.14 crore, with ₹122.29 crore recovered including interest and penalty. The largest case was Nest Services Limited, a Binance group company, at ₹722.43 crore.
- Four investors in virtual assets were also investigated, with ₹1.76 crore of evasion detected.
In practice Indian exchanges add GST to their fees; their own fee pages state this (see exchanges). If your business accepts crypto as payment or provides crypto services, ask a GST practitioner how to treat it.
Crypto service providers
Since a notification of 7 March 2023 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), a business that provides services such as exchange between VDAs and fiat currencies, transfer of VDAs, or safekeeping or administration of VDAs is a reporting entity of the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND). FIU-IND says these obligations “are activity-based and are not contingent on physical presence of the entity in India”, so they also apply to offshore exchanges that serve Indian users. Reporting entities must register, carry out customer due diligence, keep records and report suspicious transactions.
From 1 April 2026 a prescribed reporting entity must also furnish a statement of crypto-asset transactions to the tax department (section 509 of the Income-tax Act, 2025). The penalty for not furnishing it is ₹200 for every day the failure continues, and ₹50,000 for inaccurate information that is not corrected or for not following the due-diligence requirements (section 446). Which registered providers there are, and the enforcement against unregistered ones, are on exchanges.
Sources
- Income Tax Department: Income-tax Act, 2025, section 194 (Tax on certain incomes) (last checked October 2026)
- Income Tax Department: Income-tax Act, 2025, section 393 (tax to be deducted at source) (last checked October 2026)
- Income Tax Department: Income-tax Act, 2025, section 446 (penalty, crypto-asset statements), as substituted by the Finance Act, 2026 (last checked October 2026)
- Ministry of Finance: Memorandum explaining the provisions in the Finance Bill, 2026 (last checked October 2026)
- Lok Sabha: Unstarred question 966, GST Evasion by Cryptocurrency Exchanges (2 December 2024) (last checked October 2026)
- Lok Sabha: Unstarred question 1153, Regulation of Cryptocurrency (28 July 2025) (last checked October 2026)
- Lok Sabha: Unstarred question 5805, Regulation of Virtual Digital Assets in the Country (30 March 2026) (last checked October 2026)
- PIB: FIU-IND issues notices for non-compliance to 15 Virtual Digital Assets Service providers (9 September 2026) (last checked October 2026)
- FIU-IND: Downloads (AML and CFT Guidelines for Reporting Entities Providing Services Related to Virtual Digital Assets, updated 8 January 2026) (last checked October 2026)
This page is general information, not tax or legal advice. Rules and rates change, so check the official sources above or ask a chartered accountant before you act.