Category Archives: Lottery

Manipur, India brings back the lottery

There is one thing you can always count on – governments are always looking for new ways to earn money. One way that they have found the greatest success is by taxing those things that men and women love to do most. The vices are the premium way to earn some extra money, and that proved to be the case in Manipur where it was announced early last week that the lottery would be reintroduced.

Deputy Chief Minister Yumnam Joykumar announced that the lottery system would be re-implemented in Manipur, India, expecting that over Rs 100 cr will be collected annually from the reintroduction of lottery sales.

Some details still need to be worked out. This includes whether lottery tickets will be sold only inside the state or will be available outside as well. There is even a proposal that the lottery would only be available to those outside of the state of Manipur.

Since the introduction of GST in July 2017, Jaykumar reported that Rs 857.89 crore had been collected as revenue to the state. This has buoyed many officials within the region to look to reintroduce the lottery system as a means to add additional revenue.

Uniform GST rate on lotteries could be coming to India

A panel comprised of ministers in India who had been tasked with exploring the goods and service tax (GST) levied on lottery operations in the country has finished its research and turned in its results. They recommend that India introduce a uniform tax for all lottery operations and suggest that the rate should be either 18% or 28%. The new tax could become effective as soon as February 24.

A dual-rate tax system currently exists on lottery products in India. Lottery tickets sold directly by state governments are assessed a 12% GST on their face value, while those offered through private distributors or marketing agents are charged 28% on their face value.

The panel was created by the GST Council and comprised ministers from across the country. These included Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mugantiwar (chairman); West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra; Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac; Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma; Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal; Goa Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho, all of whom were responsible for studying the tax structure on lotteries and evasion of taxes by private entities, as well as other issues.

Subsequent to the submission of the group’s findings, the GST Council attempted to hold a vote on the tax via a video conference. However, as is to be expected from almost all government working groups, there were multiple differences of opinions and a consensus wasn’t found. The meeting was adjourned with no resolution, and a physical meeting of the Council this Sunday could decide the tax’s fate.