HALVERTON & CO.

03 / Practice area

Crypto, Web3 & Digital Assets

In India, virtual digital assets are taxed, and businesses that deal in them carry anti-money-laundering duties. There is still no dedicated statute. We advise on what applies to your business today.

What it includes

The work, in plain terms.

  • 01

    Regulatory advisory for VDA businesses

    Whether your activity makes you a virtual digital asset service provider, and what follows if it does.

  • 02

    PMLA and FIU-IND

    Registration with FIU-IND as a reporting entity, KYC and record-keeping policies, and suspicious transaction reporting under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

  • 03

    Token and NFT project structuring

    Choosing the entity, the issuing party and the rights attached to a token. Documentation for holders.

  • 04

    Tax touchpoints

    Where the tax treatment of virtual digital assets affects product design, pricing or user flows. We work with your tax adviser, not in place of one.

  • 05

    Smart contract terms review

    What the contract promises, who carries the risk if the code fails, and whether your user terms say the same thing.

Who it is for

This work is for teams building on, or dealing in, digital assets and selling to users in India.

  • Exchanges and trading platforms
  • Wallet, custody and infrastructure providers
  • Token and NFT projects
  • Companies that accept or hold digital assets

Typical matters

  • 01Assessing whether a platform must register with FIU-IND
  • 02KYC and AML policy for a VDA service provider
  • 03Structuring an NFT collection sold to Indian users
  • 04Reviewing terms for a wallet or staking product
  • 05Advising a foreign protocol team on its Indian exposure

Relevant law

  • Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 and notifications under it
  • Income tax provisions on virtual digital assets
  • Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (cross-border flows)
  • Information Technology Act, 2000

This page describes the area of practice in general terms. It is information about the firm’s work, not legal advice, and it does not create a lawyer-client relationship.

Related areas

Often part of the same matter.

  • 02

    Technology & AI Law

    Contracts, data protection and AI policies for products that handle other people’s data.

    • IT Act 2000
    • DPDP Act 2023
    • Open source
    View area
  • 04

    Startups & Venture

    From incorporation to term sheet. The documents a company needs to be fundable.

    • DPIIT recognition
    • ESOPs
    • Shareholders’ agreements
    View area

06 / Contact

Write to us about what you are building.

Send a short note on the business and the issue. Sending a message does not create a lawyer-client relationship.

Write to the firmoffice@halvertonandco.com