Home Ministry wants all lottery prize payments to be made via banking channel

Ministry of Home Affairs wants that the prize amount should be disbursed to lottery winners through formal banking channels to check tax evasion and money laundering, Parliament was informed on Monday.

The home ministry has sought views from the revenue department, under the finance ministry, and state governments in this regard. “Ministry of Home Affairs sought views from Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance through the said OM (office memorandum) regarding possibility of disbursement of prize amount of lotteries through formal banking channel. Ministry of Home Affairs has also sought views of all states on the same issue,” Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

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Under section 194B and 194G of the Income Tax Act, winnings from lottery or crossword puzzle and commission, on sale of lottery tickets are subject to Tax Deduction at Source (TDS). The Finance Act, 2023 has amended section 194B of the Act and the scope of TDS has been further expanded to include gambling or betting of any form or nature whatsoever, with a threshold of aggregate amount exceeding Rs 10,000 during the financial year for TDS to be deducted. Chaudhary said the Income Tax Department takes appropriate investigative action in tax evasion cases, whenever any credible information/ intelligence of violation of provisions of Direct Tax Laws relating to any taxpayer comes to its notice.