Ministerial meet on GST levy on casinos, online gaming on July 12

The Group of Ministers on casinos, online gaming and horse racing will meet on Tuesday to finalise its report on modalities taxing these activities that are akin to gambling.

The GST Council, comprising the Centre and state finance ministers, had referred back the report to the Group of Ministers (GoM) for further discussion and set a deadline of July 15 for the submission of the final report.

Addressing a conference on GST organised by Ficci, Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, who is a member of the GoM, said the panel will meet on July 12.

The GoM in its report highlighted that horse racing, online gaming or casino, are all part of betting and gambling, and 28 per cent GST should be levied on them.

The Group of Ministers, headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, has recommended that online gaming should be taxed at the full value of the consideration, including the contest entry fee paid by the player on participating in the game. In the case of racecourses, the GoM has suggested that GST be levied on the full value of bets pooled in the totalisators and placed with the bookmakers.

In casinos, the GoM recommended that the tax would be levied on the full face value of the chips/coins purchased from the casino by a player. No further GST would apply to the value of bets placed in each round of betting, including those placed with winnings in previous rounds. While the Council was deliberating the GoM report in its meeting last week, Goa Industries Minister Mauvin Godinho highlighted that there was a need for greater detailing and understanding why casinos require a different treatment in taxation compared to horse racing and online gaming. Following that, the Council gave time for further consultation and mandated the GoM to finalise its report by July 15. The other state ministers in the 8-member GoM include Gujarat Finance Minister Kanubhai Patel, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister P Thiaga Rajan, and Telangana Finance Minister T Harish Rao.

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