Delhi Minister Atishi attends 51st GST Council meeting, opposes new rates on online gaming platforms
Aug 02, 2023
New Delhi [India], August 2 : Delhi Finance Minister Atishi opposed the new GST rates on online gaming platforms in the 51st GST Council meeting.
She emphasized the need to reconsider the new GST rates imposed on the online gaming industry to encourage new startups in the country, read an official statement.
During the meeting, Atishi said, “The online gaming industry is the fastest-growing industry in the country. Investors from India and abroad are attracted to it, leading to investments in the millions and billions of dollars. Levying heavy taxes on this rapidly growing industry will burden it and discourage investment in Indian startups, causing a negative impact on the startup ecosystem.”
She pointed out that while the Central government talks about promoting startups, the online gaming sector, which has emerged as a significant sector with substantial investments and rapid growth, is being heavily taxed. Instead of burdening this sector with excessive taxes, the Central government should focus on promoting these startups.
Atishi mentioned that more than 40 crore people of all ages across the country play games on online gaming platforms. This industry, with such a large market and attracting investments in millions of dollars, is generating employment opportunities for thousands of people. If a 28 per cent GST is imposed on it, the entire industry could collapse, leading to the ruin of more than 80 per cent of startups associated with it, and the negative impact would reverberate across the entire startup ecosystem.
She said that imposing such high taxes would discourage people from gaming and completely destroy this industry. The immediate impact would be the loss of 50,000 jobs, and it would also deter future investors from investing in any Indian startup, fearing that if they invest and tax regulations change in the future, they could incur losses. This negative impact would extend to other startups in the coming times as well.
