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At a panel held by the Law and Technology Society at the National Law School of India University in partnership with the All India Game Developers’ Forum, top gaming CEOs voiced their concern over the ‘extortionate’ 30% tax imposed on gaming apps by Google.
Manish Agarwal is the co-founder of IndiGG and he believes that 30% tax on gaming applications is unfair. He said that the 30% jagirdari is extortion. “I believe we shouldn’t allow anyone to do this in India, especially if you are not an Indian company,” Agarwal stated. He said that in India, it is important to reduce friction and increase the willingness to pay for consumers. He believes that adding an additional 30% tax to the GST is a major expense for consumers.
Anuj Tandon expressed similar sentiments as the Gaming Chief Executive of JetSynthesys. “When the app stores and the play stores were first launched, the 30% was revolutionary in comparison to the 70% that OEMs or Telcos charged for game developers. The 30% fee was revolutionary at that time. However, as the industry has evolved and the business models have changed, the rates need to be reviewed.
Sai Srinivas is the Co-Founder and CEO of Mobile Premier League (MPL). He said that while the 30% commission might be feasible in developed markets such as the United States it’s important to give Indian game developers more money to invest in the development of games and create more. He explained: “Let’s look at the unit economics. If a developer charges a 100-rupee fee, 30 rupees will go to the app or play store while 70 rupees will go to the developer.” “From the 70 rupees they must pay for hosting, user acquisition, and other expenses.” I believe that we should give Indian game developers more money to invest in the development of games and create more.
Sean Hyunil Sohn is the Chief Executive Officer of Krafton Incorporated India. He called for the proper intervention of the government, and encouraged consumers to support the development competition among third-party retailers.
Consilience 2023 was the first of its kind held after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology announced the new rules for online gaming. The conference provided an overview of the regulatory and legal requirements, growth strategies and policy needed to achieve the full potential of the industry.
The conference covered topics like online gaming regulation, taxation and business opportunities for gaming companies. The speakers included Akshat Rattee, co-founder of Nodwin Gaming; Anupriya Sinha das, head of corporate development at Nazara; Rachit Rastogi Chief Operating Officer of Good Game Exchange (GGX); Joyjyoti Misra Group General Counsel of Gameskraft; Ritika Chatterjee General Counsel of Mayhem Studios, and Arun Prabbu, partner at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. The panels were moderated by NLSIU professors like Dr Betsy Rajasingh, Associate Prof. NUJS, who specializes on intellectual property law and technology, Professor Sanyukta Chowdhury who specializes on tax, Professor Rahul Sing, Associate Professor at NLSIU who focuses on corporate affairs and competition laws, and Dr TS. Somashekar Professor of Economics.
Shikhar Sharma is the convenor of Law and Technology Society, 2022/23. “Consilience was always a syncretic event that brought together different perspectives in law and technology,” he said. This year, we’re proud to host the conference with AIGDF and include the business perspective at the intersection of Law and Technology.
