The Centre was planning a fresh consultation paper on cryptocurrency soon, though a law on the digital assets was likely to take more time, Secretary of Economic Affairs Ajay Seth said on Monday.

On the sidelines of a Finance Ministry event, the secretary also said that there was no case for revising growth estimates downwards. He said that inflation should moderate soon and that the government was well prepared for any shock. 

Speaking about cryptocurrency, Mr Seth on Monday told reporters: “Our consultation paper is fairly ready. We have gone into a deep dive into this.” He did not mention when it was likely to be put out. Sources, though, have said that it can be expected in August. 

The economic affairs secretary added that a law on cryptocurrencies might take some more time as India was waiting for an international framework on it and was closely engaging with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. 

In December last year, during the winter session of the Parliament, the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, was listed to provide a framework for digital currencies. The Bill, however, was not introduced.

Subsequently, in the Union Budget for 2022-23, the government had imposed a 30 per cent tax on gains made from virtual digital assets, along with a 1 per cent tax deducted at source on all such transactions. However, the Centre later clarified that taxation did not mean legal validity for cryptocurrencies. The government has since called for a global framework for taxing virtual digital assets.