All About Section 194BA – TDS Deduction on Winnings from Online Games

Background:

Section 194BA has been introduced after Section 194B under the Income Tax Act 1961 to tax winnings from online games.

As per section 194BA of the Income Tax Act, 1961, TDS is required to be deducted by the person responsible for paying income earned by the other person from net winnings from online games. No threshold has been set for such income earned and TDS is to be deducted on each withdrawal from the online gamming app.

Applicability of Section 194BA: 1st April 2023

Rate of TDS: TDS is to be deducted at the rate of 30% on the net winnings from online games.

Who is required to deduct TDS:

TDS is required to be deducted by the online gamming application from the winnings earned by the user of the application from the winnings from online games.

When to deduct TDS

TDS is to be deducted from each winning withdrawn from the application by the user.

The manner of computation of net winnings has been prescribed in Rule 133 of the Income Tax Rules, 1962 vide notification no. 28/2023 dated 22nd May 2023.

CBDT wide Circular No. 5 of 2023 issued guidelines for the purpose of removal of difficulties with the provisions of the said section.

  • User having multiple wallets in the same application: All accounts of a user shall be counted as a User Account for the purpose of winnings from the online gamming app. The aggregate of deposit, withdrawal or balance in each user account shall be meant as deposit, withdrawal or balance in the user account for the purpose of Rule 133.
  • Manner of computation of net winnings –

A – (B+C)

A: Amount withdrawn from the user account

B: Aggregate amount of non-taxable deposit made in the user account by the owner of such account during the financial year, till the time of such withdrawal; and

C: Opening balance of the user account at the beginning of the financial year

  1. Bonus, referral bonus or incentives given by the online gamming applications to the user account will be treated as taxable deposits by the user and is liable for TDS deduction, however if such bonus or incentives are not allowed for withdrawal by the user, then such bonus or incentives shall be considered as non-taxable deposits.
  2. The amount withdrawn by the user from the user account to any other account shall be meant as withdrawal for the purpose of computation of taxable winnings under this Rule.
  3. No TDS is to be deducted if winnings from online gaming does not exceed Rs. 100 in a month

How to deduct TDS in case of winnings in kind

In such cases, the person responsible for paying shall, that before releasing the winning, ensure that the tax has been paid in respect of such winnings by the deductee and submits the proof of payment to the deductor.

Form 26Q also has included provisions for reporting such transactions under section 194BA of the Act (vide Notification no. 28/2023 dated 22nd May 2023).

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