CII seeks formal tax recognition for creators and new gaming regulator

MUMBAI: India’s creator economy is creating businesses, building audiences and generating income, but its earnings still risk falling through the cracks of formal accounting. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) wants to change that, calling for creators to be recognised as digital businesses, simpler taxation and creator income to be included in national accounts.

In a white paper on the creators, gaming and connectivity ecosystem, the industry body said the absence of a formal business category for creators leaves a significant portion of their income uncounted. It has proposed a dedicated framework featuring simplified presumptive taxation and appropriate export treatment for income earned overseas.

CII has also called for creator and commerce media income to be reflected in national accounts, arguing that better measurement would help capture the sector’s contribution more fully.

Beyond creators, CII has proposed a National Esports and Gaming Development Authority to support casual gaming, esports and Indian gaming intellectual property. It has also called for a national governing structure for esports, suggesting a Board of Control for Esports in India.

The recommendations come as India’s video gaming sector recalibrates following the ban on real-money gaming. CII said renewed investment in the industry and stronger support for home-grown gaming intellectual property would be important to its development.

The proposed authority and governing board would bring greater institutional focus to gaming and esports, although the recommendations do not, by themselves, establish either body.

CII’s proposals extend to the infrastructure underpinning India’s digital economy. The industry body has called for faster implementation of BharatNet and accelerated broadband expansion across rural India and the Northeast.

It has also recommended setting up content delivery network (CDN) nodes in smaller cities. These nodes can help deliver online content more efficiently, improving the experience for users beyond major urban centres.

The broader objective is to expand access while enabling more internet users to become paying digital audiences, creating opportunities for creators, gaming companies and other digital businesses.

Taken together, CII’s recommendations focus on three areas: bringing creator-led businesses into a clearer formal framework, strengthening the institutional structure for gaming and esports, and expanding the connectivity needed to support digital growth.

The proposals form part of a wider industry push to align regulation and infrastructure with the changing digital economy. Whether they translate into policy changes will depend on how the recommendations are taken forward by the relevant authorities.