Ashneer Grover Criticizes INR 55,000 Crore Tax Notice Targeting Gaming Firms: Accuses Tax Authorities of Harassment
Written by Sanjay Kumar
In a scathing critique, Ashneer Grover, the founder of the fantasy gaming app Crickpe, has lambasted tax authorities for their recent actions in issuing substantial tax demand notices to gaming companies. The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has sent pre-show cause notices to a dozen online gaming companies, totaling an astonishing ₹55,000 crore. Among these, Dream11, a prominent gaming unicorn, finds itself at the center of the controversy with a tax notice amounting to ₹25,000 crore.
₹55,000 crore GST demand ! I am intrigued ki Tax vaalo ke dimaag mein kya chalta hoga aise notice bhejte samay. The only explanation is – kuchh nahi. Monopoly ki game chal rahi hai bas. Na koi tax dega itna – na Sarkar ko milega. Milegi sirf vakilo ko fees jo SC mein ise… pic.twitter.com/BB1b9g3R4E
— Ashneer Grover (@Ashneer_Grover) September 26, 2023
Grover, a former founder of BharatPe, expressed his deep reservations about the intentions behind these actions, suggesting that the tax department’s objectives seem to be solely to “harass businessmen.” He derided the entire exercise, predicting that neither the businesses nor the government would benefit significantly from such hefty tax demands. He wryly remarked that this “game of monopoly” would only serve to enrich lawyers who would inevitably challenge the policy in the Supreme Court.
Furthermore, Grover characterized this situation as a form of ‘retrospective tax,’ drawing a comparison with the controversial Vodafone Retrospective Tax introduced during the Congress era. He took a sarcastic jab at the government, asserting that this move does not align with its vision of achieving a 5 trillion-dollar economy, and urged the Finance Ministry to address this pressing issue promptly.
Responding to Grover’s tweet, one user highlighted the stark contrast between the rhetoric of “Ease of Doing Business” and the actual challenges businesses face in India, suggesting that the country must do more to become truly business-friendly. Another comment criticized the 5 trillion-dollar economy target as being primarily for the political class and not benefiting the common citizens.
Notably, this is not the first time Grover has expressed his dissatisfaction with government policies affecting the gaming industry. He had previously criticized the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council’s decision to impose a 28 percent tax on the turnover of online gaming companies. Industry insiders have also voiced concerns about the potential negative consequences of this high GST rate, including limitations on investment in new games and impacts on cash flows and business expansion.
It is worth mentioning that Ashneer Grover recently launched his own fantasy gaming platform named Crickpe in April of this year. Crickpe allows users to create virtual cricket teams based on players’ current form, with points earned based on the real-life performance of these cricketers in matches.
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