Delhi Finance Minister Atishi opposes new GST rates on online gaming platforms

New Delhi: Delhi Finance Minister Atishi has opposed the new GST rates on online gaming platforms in the 51st GST Council meeting.

Atishi emphasized the need to reconsider the new GST rates imposed on the online gaming industry to encourage new startups in the country. Despite repeated requests, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was not willing to reconsider this, the office of the Delhi Finance Minister communique said.

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, the statement said.

She mentioned that over 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, it said.

Atishi 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 thousand 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. (UNI)