Binance Earns Reporting Entity Status in India After FIU Registration

Binance has successfully registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit as a “reporting entity,” marking its return to the Indian market after a seven-month ban. Consequently, the cryptocurrency exchange has restored full functionality of its website and mobile applications for users in India after a $2.25 million settlement.

Binance URL Now Fully Accessible

Binance, one of the top crypto exchanges, has now achieved a milestone in the Indian market as its URL gets unblocked and accessible to users in that region. The URL unblocking follows its registration with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and payment of a substantial fine. This move marks the exchange’s 19th global regulatory milestone.

The crypto exchange had earlier paid a fine of over $2.25 million for previous non-compliance with Indian regulations. The fine was imposed due to their failure to adhere to India’s anti-money laundering regulations. According to the FIU, the exchange had been carrying out its operations within the country without proper registration and had not complied with local AML requirements.

#Binance goes live in India 🇮🇳

Binance is now registered as a reporting entity with India's Financial Intelligence Unit, marking our 19th global regulatory milestone!

Our website and app are now fully available for Indian users.

Read more 👇https://t.co/samyDmwwut

— Binance (@binance) August 15, 2024

Previously, the Indian government made a clear declaration of their stance against offshore crypto exchanges, blocking the URLs of nine platforms, which included Binance, OKX, and KuCoin. However, the titan exchanges’ compliance with regulatory demands and payment of the fine has led to the restoration of its services in India.

This move has the potential to open doors for other crypto exchanges to follow suit and comply with local regulations, as few have already started showing compliance. The growing importance of regulatory compliance in the global crypto market has gained more traction. While Indian users now get access to to the URL, it remains to be seen how this will impact the local crypto trading scene, as this is a new milestone attained for its Indian user base.

India Tax Bill On Binance

Most recently, the Indian government issued a substantial tax bill to Binance. The Ahmedabad unit of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence issued this bill to the exchange, demanding a payment of $86,033,159 in Goods and Services Tax.

The tax recovery notice alleges that the exchange received certain fees from Indian customers trading virtual digital assets on their platform without going through the proper channels by registering under India’s GST framework. This action showcased India’s ongoing efforts to bring cryptocurrency operations under its tax regulations.