RBI Act s.35A — the law in short
What the courts have decided on section RBI Act s.35A, in one screen. Read this first; open an entry when you need the facts, the reasoning and the source.
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Internet and Mobile Association of India v RBI
Supreme CourtCuts both ways
The AO's position is that dealing in crypto was illegal in the years under assessment. Is there Supreme Court authority the other way?
Yes, on the regulatory question. The Supreme Court set aside the RBI's April 2018 circular that had barred regulated entities from providing services to persons dealing in virtual currencies, holding the measure disproportionate, and recorded that RBI itself had not banned virtual currencies. The judgment also records that courts in different jurisdictions have placed virtual currencies in categories ranging from property to commodity. It decides nothing about the Income-tax Act.
Listed strongest first: Supreme Court, then High Court, then Tribunal, then CBDT. Nothing here has yet been read in full by a chartered accountant — open an entry to see where it came from.