Seven Online Gaming Firms, Three Dozen Players Get Income Tax Notices

The Income Tax department has sent show cause notices to seven online gaming companies over possible tax evasion of about Rs 28,000 crore.

The department has also sought response from about 36 high-value players active on these platforms.

The notices have been sent out to the firms and players over the past 15 days, reports Economic Times.

The possible tax evasion in these cases could be about Rs 28,000 crore, the off icials told ET without revealing any names. The notices have been sent out over the past 15 days.

The income tax department had data of several high-value participants, including students and young IT professionals based in Bengaluru, Pune and Gurugram, with over Rs 50 crore in earnings each from gaming.

“We have the data… We are in the process of issuing notices to some of the players and companies ” Central board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Nitin Gupta was quoted in the ET report as saying.

Earlier in February, Income tax authorities had uncovered an online gaming portal with 8 million registered players and gross earnings of about Rs 58,000 crore over a three-year period.

“Preliminary estimates indicate tax evasion of about Rs 28,000 crore,” an official was quoted in the report as saying.

The official added that this may just be the tip of the iceberg and the actual evaded amount could be much higher.