The tax department is considering a move to ban the currency, according to a report on ET Now. This will render all transactions and holdings in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies illegal. The government thinks cryptocurrencies aid tax evasion and round tripping. The government could soon bring a law to ban cryptocurrencies, the report said, citing sources.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had clarified in his Budget speech that crypto currencies were not legal tender and that the government would not recognise them.
A group under the chairmanship of Subhash Chandra Garg, secretary, department of economic affairs is in the last stages of deliberation, and is expected to come out with the government's approach on the entire spectrum of issues related to crypto currencies.
However, Jaitley had announced that the government would adopt blockchain, the technology that supports crypto currencies.
