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Informist, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026

 

By Priyasmita Dutta

 

NEW DELHI – In the absence of cryptocurrency regulation in India, the commitment to automatically exchange cross-border crypto transaction data from Apr. 1, 2027 will help India integrate with global crypto trading legally, Central Board of Direct Taxes Chairman Ravi Agrawal said. This will help address the concern of a significant portion of crypto trading by Indian users on overseas platforms, beyond the reach of domestic regulators.

 

India will share data on cryptocurrency trading under the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, or CARF, a global standard being developed under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. "We are preparing and doing the groundwork for it," Agrawal told Informist in an interaction. The framework aims to bring cryptocurrencies under a uniform regime.

 

India does not have any legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies in the country, and only maintains partial oversight. During its G20 presidency in 2023, India had called for a global framework to regulate such assets and in 2024, the government had planned to issue a discussion paper on its crypto stance, which is yet to be published.

 

Currently, global crypto exchanges can operate in India after registering with the Financial Intelligence Unit-India, tasked with due diligence to check money-laundering risks.

 

Even before the data-sharing initiative starts, the government has begun tightening its compliance framework for crypto platforms operating in India, with the Union Budget for 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) proposing a new set of penalties. From Apr. 1, entities that fail to submit required statements on crypto transactions will face a daily penalty of INR 200. In cases of incorrect reporting or failure to rectify errors, a flat penalty of INR 50,000 will apply.

 

"These norms are to basically prepare (crypto) exchanges to adhere to data-sharing obligations," Agrawal said. This move will "create a deterrence for non-furnishing of statement or for furnishing inaccurate information in respect of crypto assets in such statement," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in her Budget speech. 

 

According to Raj Karkara, chief operating officer, ZebPay, the introduction of well-defined measures to address non-compliance strengthens accountability while bringing digital asset reporting closer in line with established financial standards. "Importantly, I believe this clarity enables exchanges and market participants to build compliance frameworks with greater confidence and operational certainty," Karkara said. Founded in India in 2014, ZebPay is one of India's oldest crypto exchanges and now operates globally, including registered offices in Singapore and Australia.

 

The freshly announced penalties come on top of a steep tax regime introduced in 2022 – 30% tax on crypto gains and a 1% tax deducted at source on transactions.  End

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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