{ "jurisdiction_id": "IN", "jurisdiction": "India", "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/india/", "generator": "render_jid v13.3.0", "date_modified": "2026-08-17", "schema_version": "crypto-v2.0.0", "counts": { "modules": 8, "sourced_findings": 21, "source_register": 17 }, "modules": [ { "code": "crypto_licensing", "name": "Crypto Licensing", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/india/#crypto-licensing-crypto-licensing", "standing_position": "India has no dedicated crypto/VASP licensing statute. Instead, virtual digital asset (VDA) service providers (exchanges, NFT marketplaces, custodial wallet providers) must register with the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) as 'reporting entities' under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). A 2021 draft bill to ban private cryptocurrencies was never introduced, and as of mid-2026 India still has no comprehensive crypto legislation; RBI continues to favor prohibition while SEBI has proposed a multi-regulator oversight model.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "token_classification", "name": "Token Classification", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/india/#token-classification-token-classification", "standing_position": "India classifies crypto assets broadly as 'Virtual Digital Assets' (VDA) under Section 2(47A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (inserted by the Finance Act 2022), a definition intentionally wide enough to cover cryptocurrencies, tokens and NFTs, though its outer boundaries (e.g., gift vouchers, reward points) have been clarified by CBDT circular. There is no separate statutory security-token/e-money-token/stablecoin taxonomy; RBI and SEBI have only informally proposed splitting oversight of securities-like tokens (SEBI) versus fiat-backed stablecoins (RBI).", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "on_chain_activity_regime", "name": "On-Chain Activity Regime", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/india/#on-chain-activity-regime-on-chain-activity-regime", "standing_position": "India has no activity-specific licensing or registration regime for staking, DeFi lending, DEX operation, mining, node operation, validator activity or tokenization. Such activities fall outside any bespoke rulebook and are addressed only indirectly, primarily through the income-tax treatment of resulting income (staking rewards, mining income, airdrops and other DeFi-derived income are taxed as ordinary income rather than under the flat 30% VDA transfer-tax rule).", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "stablecoin_regime", "name": "Stablecoin Regime", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/india/#stablecoin-regime-stablecoin-regime", "standing_position": "India has no stablecoin-specific issuance-authorisation, reserve, or redemption framework. RBI opposes bank exposure to both foreign-currency-pegged and rupee-pegged private stablecoins, citing contagion risk, loss of seigniorage, and stress during market turmoil, and has separately urged that banks and financial institutions be barred from any crypto/stablecoin exposure. A privately developed rupee-pegged 'ARC' token (Polygon/Anq) has targeted a 2026 launch designed to be fully collateralized, but it operates without a dedicated statutory reserve or redemption-right framework; RBI's own e-rupee CBDC remains the state-preferred digital-currency vehicle.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "consumer_protection", "name": "Consumer Protection", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/india/#consumer-protection-consumer-protection", "standing_position": "India has no crypto-specific consumer-protection statute. Officials have suggested that investor grievances relating to VDAs would fall under the general Consumer Protection Act rather than a dedicated crypto dispute-resolution mechanism. The January 2026 FIU-IND identity-verification update (live-selfie liveliness checks, enhanced due diligence for high-risk clients) functions primarily as an AML/fraud control rather than an investor-disclosure or suitability rule, and exchanges remain barred from supporting ICOs/ITOs and from using transaction-obscuring tools.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "tax_treatment", "name": "Tax Treatment", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/india/#tax-treatment-tax-treatment", "standing_position": "India taxes VDA transfer gains at a flat 30% rate under Section 115BBH of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (effective since April 2022), with no offset for losses, plus a 1% TDS under Section 194S on qualifying transactions. The Union Budget 2026-27 left both the 30% tax and 1% TDS unchanged despite industry lobbying for relief, while introducing new penalties (₹200/day for non-filing; a flat ₹50,000 for incorrect/uncorrected filings) for reporting entities under Section 509 of the Income-tax Act, effective 1 April 2026.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "cross_border_transfer", "name": "Cross-Border Transfer", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/india/#cross-border-transfer-cross-border-transfer", "standing_position": "India extends its FIU-IND/PMLA registration and reporting obligations extraterritorially to offshore VDA platforms servicing Indian users on an activity basis. Separately, crypto transactions have been investigated by the Enforcement Directorate as potential violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) on the theory that crypto functions as a currency-like, cross-border value-transfer instrument. RBI cites the risk of accelerated capital outflows and a worsening current-account/external deficit as part of its rationale for maintaining a prohibitive stance rather than a calibrated cross-border framework.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "aml_cft_regime", "name": "AML/CFT Regime", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/india/#aml-cft-regime-aml-cft-regime", "standing_position": "Crypto AML/CFT obligations in India (PMLA reporting-entity registration with FIU-IND, KYC/CDD, suspicious-activity reporting, and the January 2026 enhanced identity-verification update) are substantively significant, but per the crypto consumer's subscription to the FIM aml_ctf module, detailed AML/CFT claims are not re-produced in this baseline — they are captured under the shared financial-integrity module. This entry is retained as disambiguation context only, per the module-subscription rule for this baseline pass.", "findings": [] } ] }