Some firms 'gamed system', masqueraded as gaming companies to run gambling biz: Chandrasekhar
Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Wednesday said some gaming companies "gamed the system", masqueraded as gaming companies to run gambling businesses or did not pay taxes at all in the past.
In his comments at Express Adda Live event amid a row over the GST Council's decision to charge 28 per cent tax on online gaming, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology reiterated that he will pitch for lowering the GST on permissible online gaming and has spoken to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman about the same.
Denying that the GST decision to be a "body blow" for the sector as it is made out to be, the entrepreneur-turned politician said there have been "bad actors" in online gaming and states who voted to levy the high GST are conditioned based on the instances that they see.
"For all of the characterization of body blow, we are upset (with the GST Council decision), there have been people who have gamed the system as gaming companies," he said.
"Some of these platforms have masqueraded as gaming and done gambling. Some of these platforms have masqueraded as gaming and not paid GST at all, even at 18 per cent," he added.
Chandrasekhar said he knows of a "bad actor" in his own state of Karnataka itself, who has gamed the system and made lots of money on which he has not paid any GST.
He said there is a general tendency among governments to look at online gambling and online gaming as a surrogate of gambling and hence, as a social evil which makes both the Centre and states to act against it and ensure that it does not grow.
The minister reminded that his ministry has been engaged in distinguishing between what is permissible and non-permissible, and "we should ideally have a system where the latter is
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