BULLETIN OF THE MONTH
Real Money Gaming Operators Services To Be Streamlined By State Ministers
T
he State Government of Gujarat has formed a 7-member panel consisting of state ministers for better valuation of services by online gaming portals, casinos and racecourses for imposing the Goods and Services tax (GST). The panel was set up by Nitin Patel, Gujarat’s Deputy Chief Minister and it will look into the changes that are necessary in the legal provision to get a better valuation from the services provided by real money gaming (RMG) industry. The committee will also be looking into the valuation of 08
GUTSHOT
JUNE 2021
other services like the lottery. The panellists include Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar, Goa Transport Minister, Mauvin Godinho, Karnataka Home Minister, Basavaraj Bommai, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister, P Thiagarajan, West Bengal Finance Minister, Amit Mitra and Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister, Chowna Mein. Talking about the panel, Rajat Mohan, Associate Senior Partner of AMRG said, “During the COVID-19 induced pandemic, the online gaming sector and the casinos have seen a mas-
sive user traction and flow of investments which poses a big challenge for the entire real money gaming (RMG) industry. In our country, online gaming companies are in nascent stages and this has led to multiple unresolved issues around taxation and valuation.” He further added, “Now that a Group of Ministers (GoM) has been formed, the uncertainty surrounding the valuation of services like casinos, online gaming companies, and racecourses can be resolved.” Within six months the panel is expected to submit a report to the GST council.
