India’s Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued guidance on how crypto exchanges and other virtual digital asset (VDA) service providers must comply with the country’s new crypto reporting rules under the Income-tax Rules, 2026. The framework follows the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and requires reporting crypto-asset service providers to collect users’ tax residency details and Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs), where applicable.
The new rules also require exchanges to keep detailed transaction records and submit annual reports to the Income Tax Department. The CBDT guidance explains how firms should identify reportable users, determine account holders in different situations, and handle transactions involving multiple countries. It also sets out separate reporting treatment for crypto-assets, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and certain electronic money products.
🇮🇳CBDT just shifted crypto reporting to exchanges, aligned India with the OECD’s CARF framework, and set 2027 as the year cross-border data sharing begins, all without touching the tax rate.
CBDT dropped its guidance note today, and exchanges just became the ones doing the heavy… pic.twitter.com/dqBZrE9SMQ
— India Crypto Research (@icr_indiacrypto) July 27, 2026
What will India’s new crypto reporting rules mean for users?
The rules will put more pressure on crypto platforms to improve their customer records and reporting systems. Users may face more questions during account registration or verification as exchanges collect information needed to determine tax residency and reporting obligations.
The changes do not create a new crypto tax, but they give Indian authorities a clearer system for tracking digital asset activity.
RELATED: Is India Becoming the Hardest Place in the World to Trade Crypto Right Now?
Could India’s crypto rules affect international exchanges?
International exchanges serving Indian customers may face higher compliance costs as they adapt their systems to India’s reporting requirements. Platforms will need to identify users who are tax residents in India and keep records that can support reports to the relevant authorities.
The rules could also make India a more demanding market for exchanges that operate across several countries. Firms may need to build systems that can handle different reporting rules at the same time, rather than relying on one global process.
If more governments adopt standards based on the OECD’s CARF, international exchanges could face a future where customer data and transaction records are shared more widely between tax authorities.
In another development, the country is speeding up efforts to build its own artificial intelligence ecosystem, with the government supporting 20 homegrown AI model proposals, allocating more than 93 lakh GPU hours, and expanding AI training and safety programs under the IndiaAI Mission.
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