By Tanvi Mehta and Nikunj Ohri
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s decision to impose a 28% tax on funds that online gaming companies collect from their customers, will not need further consultation and an early review is unlikely, the country’s revenue secretary told local television channels on Wednesday.
The government’s decision, announced late on Tuesday, created an uproar in the $1.5 billion industry, with shares of casino operator Delta Corp and other online gaming firms plunging in Wednesday trade.
Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra told local television channels that there was no need to consult the gaming industry and amendments to enable the tax will be brought in the monsoon session of Parliament. India’s monsoon session begins later this month.
“The GST Council was unanimous (in its decision)… I am not the one to take this decision, but I don’t think there is any chance of a review so early,” Malhotra told CNBC-TV 18.
Although the government said the decision was not intended to hurt the sector, industry experts and representatives fear it could sap their earnings and lead to a loss of customers.
Maharishi Chattopadhyay, an avid gamer and cofounder of artificial intelligence platform Beatfantasy which helps fantasy sports players to build their teams, said the risk was “too much”.
“I’d rather invest my capital in mutual funds or something like that. Knowing how much money I made in fantasy last year, to see this ending is going to be difficult to digest.”
(Reporting by Tanvi Mehta and Nikunj Ohri, additional reporting by Shivangi Acharya, editing by Christina Fincher and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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