Online betting: GST evasion by offshore entities detected

New Delhi: Tax officers have detected violation of GST law by offshore entities offering online betting and gambling platforms to Indian residents through mobile apps and are working on ways to tackle such mode of tax evasion, a source said. As per the prescribed procedure, all offshore entities providing services in India are required to register as supplier of OIDAR (Online Information Database Access and Retrieval) services under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) law.

According to the source, there are many offshore entities providing platforms for online betting and gambling in the country but are not GST-registered and hence are not paying the required GST. “Although several overseas educational bodies offering online courses in India are registered as OIDAR, the entities providing online gaming, betting ad gambling platforms are not registered under GST. We are pursuing such cases and hope to bring them under the GST net,” the source told.

These online betting and gambling apps are available on Google Play Store for android phone users and App Store for iOS users and can be freely downloaded. The source said since these companies are collecting funds and offering services in the country, they are liable to pay GST.

However, as these entities do not have a permanent establishment or a physical presence in India, it is difficult to serve notices to them. Several of these companies frequently change their bank accounts.