Quote from: teosanru on March 11, 2023, 08:41:00 PM

There is no ban. No money laundering if you merely have crypto assets. The media frames the headlines in such a way that it looks as if you are going to go to jail just for holding cryptos.

So what has happened here is government has added some extra definitions in clause (sa) of Section 2(1). What has changed is nothing but the definition of the word in the act "Person carrying on Designated Profession". Now let's see where is this word being used in the act:

1. Definition of Reporting Entity. So the words "Person carrying on Designated Profession" are being used in definition of Reporting Entity therefore it makes any person holding cryptos as a reporting entity.

2. Tasks/ Duties of Reporting entities. In plain terms,

To take UIDAI/ Adhaar of the person whom you are dealing with or a passport in any other case. -ID of someone you deal with offline
Maintain Records of all the transactions evidencing Identity and Business Correspondence for 5 years-All details of your holdings/ Trades
Additional Due Diligence- Taking extra precautions when dealing with regards to the sources of funds which you are receiving from that person etc.-Practically slightly difficult to do for any individual

3. Obviously failure to do above tasks will make you vulnerable to Penalties from the Director.

So, the recent change has brought this above ammendment so just make sure to keep the records and identity of any person you deal with and enjoy trading and Crypto. There is no outright ban and if you follow the above Tasks there is no violation of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2003.

For just to clear the air on the practical side... PMLA is usually handled by ED, so they won't come after some small change transactions as such... So unless u are actually being shady and just a normal trader paying ur taxes... Carry on without any issues...