TL;DR
- India will exchange cross-border crypto transfer data starting April 1, 2027, providing tax information under the CARF regulatory framework.
- The 2026–27 budget sets penalties starting April 2026: daily fines of ₹200 for failure to report and penalties of ₹50,000 for incorrect or uncorrected data.
- Platforms will be required to report full user data and apply enhanced KYC with video selfies, geolocation, and IP tracking.
India will begin exchanging cross-border cryptocurrency transaction data with other jurisdictions starting April 1, 2027. The country will join the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), an international standard coordinated by the OECD that establishes the automatic exchange of tax information related to digital assets between tax authorities.
The framework will require crypto platforms and intermediaries to report user transactions involving cross-border movements. This scheme mirrors the model already in place for international banking information and aims to cover a significant share of the crypto activity of Indian residents that currently takes place on offshore platforms.
The implementation of CARF in India is already underway. The government is working on the technical format for data exchange and on adopting the CARF XML Schema, the standard that defines mandatory fields and the structure of reports. The technical design will be finalized before April 2026, with the goal of ensuring compatibility with nearly 50 participating jurisdictions, including economies such as the United Kingdom, France, and Singapore.
India Will Impose Fines on Platforms That Fail to Comply With Regulations
Before the start of the international information exchange, the 2026–27 budget introduces a penalty framework to enforce domestic compliance. Starting April 1, 2026, exchanges and intermediaries that fail to submit the required reports will face a daily fine of ₹200. In cases of incorrect information or failure to correct errors, the penalty will be a flat fine of ₹50,000. These sanctions will fall under Section 509 of the Income-tax Act.
Reports will be required to include complete user data. Platforms will be obligated to collect full names, addresses, tax identification numbers, and records of transfers to unhosted wallets. This structure will allow tax authorities to compare international crypto market activity with income declared at the local level.
Separately, India’s Financial Intelligence Unit updated its AML and KYC rules on January 8, 2026. The new requirements mandate liveness verification through video selfies at the time of onboarding. Platforms will also be required to record precise geographic coordinates, IP addresses, and timestamps for every account created.
This set of measures prepares the local system for the automatic exchange of information starting in 2027. The Indian government confirmed that it will provide technical assistance to exchanges to ensure the proper implementation of the new requirements before the international framework comes into force
