India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance held its seventh meeting on virtual digital assets, with Reserve Bank of India and Institute of Chartered Accountants of India representatives appearing before the panel.
The July 2 committee agenda covered oral evidence from RBI representatives on “A Study on Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) and Way Forward,” followed by a discussion with ICAI representatives on the same subject and internal deliberations.
Committee chair Bhartruhari Mahtab said after the meeting that the RBI did not recommend granting legal status to cryptocurrencies in India. He also described the session as the seventh meeting held by the committee on virtual digital assets.
The committee’s VDA review has included regulators, tax authorities, accounting bodies and crypto-market participants. Earlier sittings covered FIU-IND, CBDT, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, IFSCA and representatives from crypto firms operating in India.
Legal Status And Tax Rules Stay Separate
India taxes virtual digital assets, but taxation has not created legal-tender status for cryptocurrencies. Income from VDA transfers is taxed under Section 115BBH, while Section 194S applies 1% TDS on qualifying VDA transfers.
The committee’s discussion covered the gap between tax enforcement and a full regulatory framework. RBI’s position keeps financial-stability, consumer-risk and monetary-policy concerns at the center of the review, while ICAI’s role brings accounting, audit treatment, disclosures and reporting standards into the same process.
India’s tax enforcement has already moved ahead of broader crypto legislation. The Income Tax Department recently sent more than 44,000 crypto tax notices and identified more than ₹888 crore in undisclosed VDA income.
Investor Protection Remains In Focus
The finance panel’s latest meeting also follows enforcement activity around crypto-linked transfers and offshore routing. India’s Enforcement Directorate recently searched Bengaluru firms in a $265 million transfer probe involving alleged foreign-exchange violations.
Local market stress has also appeared in stablecoin pricing. USDT recently traded at a steep premium in India after tighter access and stronger local demand pushed the token above the rupee-dollar reference rate.
The committee has not announced final recommendations, a draft bill or a change to India’s tax rules. As of July 2, the review remained at the evidence and consultation stage, with RBI opposing legal status for cryptocurrencies and ICAI participating in discussions on accounting, taxation and audit treatment.
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