Thursday, 18th August, 2016, 4-6 pm
Venue: Nishith Desai Associates, 3, North Avenue, Maker Maxity,
Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (E), Mumbai 400051.

Power to tax gambling, betting and entertainments and amusements traditionally lies with the state government by virtue of entry 62 of the state list of the constitution. Thus, the position as of now is that the governments have sought to levy two categories of taxes, i.e. (i) gaming/lottery tax and (ii) service tax on the commission charged by skill games/social games companies and websites

However, by virtue of the Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill, 2014 as introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha on May 06, 2015 as well as certain subsequent amendments contemplated by the central government, it has been proposed that the power of the state government to tax gambling and betting as well as VAT, sales tax, central sales tax, service tax, excise, advertisement tax and variety of other taxes be subsumed in an omnibus and uniform tax, namely, the Goods and Services Tax (“GST”).

It is widely believed that GST is set to become a reality and the question no longer is ‘whether GST will be implemented’, but ‘when and how GST will be rolled-out’. Given that GST is likely to be rolled-out from 1st April, 2017, it is important for all stakeholders connected with the gaming industry to understand the practical impact of GST and the procedure of transitioning to this new taxation regime.