Bitcoin holdings and FEMA

[bitterbit]

According to Forex rules in India,an individual can hold upto $2000 usd equivalent of foreign currency at any given point of time.Many of us hold bitcoins more than that amount.Am I at risk by trading in exchanges for an amount more than $2000 where my PAN details is associated with? Please put some light into it because going against the FEMA policy is a serious offense and might land us into jail.

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[RocketSingh]

According to Forex rules in India,an individual can hold upto $2000 usd equivalent of foreign currency at any given point of time.Many of us hold bitcoins more than that amount.Am I at risk by trading in exchanges for an amount more than $2000 where my PAN details is associated with? Please put some light into it because going against the FEMA policy is a serious offense and might land us into jail.

Can you please point me to a Government of India website (i.e. .gov.in or .nic.in), which is classifying bitcoin as a foreign currency?

[Divinespark]

I think the counter-argument is that you have bought it as an asset/store of value from an exchange, not as a currency and so long as there is no blockchain trail pointing to capital control evasion, we should be fine

[Benson Samuel]

According to Forex rules in India,an individual can hold upto $2000 usd equivalent of foreign currency at any given point of time.Many of us hold bitcoins more than that amount.Am I at risk by trading in exchanges for an amount more than $2000 where my PAN details is associated with? Please put some light into it because going against the FEMA policy is a serious offense and might land us into jail.

Is Bitcoin a currency?

Tough to classify as foreign as well, since it is a global resource that could have originated in India itself.

[polynesia]

There was an income tax circular (I think FAQ) which dealt with the question of e-wallets.
Let me try and dig that out.

[camohitmishra]

Bitcoins or any other cryptocoins are not classified as foreign currencies. Government has no control over cryptocurrencies since these are peer to peer based. Had it been foreign currency it would be taxable underIncome from Other resources. But its taxable treatment is also not clear. Hence, people can hold any number of coins.

[Divinespark]

What would be interesting to know ( as data is scarce) is whether there was ever any comments/requests for additional information when folks who have traded and profited in BTC have paid BTC trade related taxes

[polynesia]

Here is the post that I was talking about.

On a related note, do you have to declare your bitcoin holdings in Schedule FA (Foreign Assets Declaration)?
According to a recent FAQ from IT dept, e-wallets need to be declared.

http://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/communications/circular/circular15_2015.pdf
please refer to pages 11-12

Q: A person maintains an e-wallet / virtual card account online on a website hosted in a foreign country, which was initially funded by income chargeable to tax in India on which tax has not been paid. Can a declaration be made in respect of e-wallet / virtual card?

A: The e-wallet/ virtual card account is similar to a bank account where inward and outward cash movement takes place from the account. Therefore, the valuation and declaration of an e-wallet account may be made as in the case of a bank account.