The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has served tax evasion notices to the Indian cricket team sponsor, Dream11, according to a report.
Dream11 was issued a notice demanding Rs 28,000 crore, CNBC-TV18 quoted sources as saying. Play Games 24X7 also received a notice of Rs 21,000 crore, said the report.
This is not the first time that tax authorities sent a notice to the online fantasy sports gaming platform. Earlier, the Maharashtra State GST Audit authorities issued a notice of Rs 18,000 crore to Dream11.
On July 11, the GST Council gave nod to a 28 per cent tax on online gaming, horse racing and casinos on the Contest Entry Amount (CEA), which is the full face value for real-money gaming transactions. This would mean that a 28 per cent GST will be levied on the users' initial deposits. A separate 30 per cent income tax will be levied on the users for the winnings.
Earlier, online gaming platforms were only bound to pay 18 per cent GST on the platform fees called the Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) and not on the full value of the transactions.
The online gaming industry in December 2022 expressed its support for the government if the previous 18 per cent tax on GGR was raised to 28 per cent. However, the GST Council in July decided to levy 28 per cent tax on CEA, which is the entire amount deposited by the player.