u/AntimatterEntity

For those trading BTC/ETH perpetuals or futures in India, how are you actually reporting your profits?

Are you reporting them under the VDA tax rules (30% tax), or as speculative business income under the normal income-tax rules?

I am asking because perpetuals and futures are contracts. There is no actual transfer of the underlying BTC/ETH when you open a position.

For example, if I open a BTCUSDT perpetual long, I am entering into a derivative contract. I am not actually buying BTC, and when I close the position, I am not selling BTC that I previously owned. The transaction is based on the contract's P&L.

So technically, wouldn't this fall under derivatives/speculative business income rather than a VDA transfer?

The taxation is obviously very different between the two, and reporting it as business/speculative income is much more favorable and practical for the trader.

For people who are actually trading crypto perps/futures in India and filing ITRs, what are you reporting them as, and what section/head of income are you using?

Also interested in hearing from anyone who has had a CA specifically deal with crypto perpetuals/futures rather than just spot crypto.

I'm from Kota, Rajasthan, and I'm in a really difficult situation with my house contractor. I'd appreciate any legal advice.

In March, we decided to build a house on our 20×40 ft (800 sq ft) plot. We met several contractors before choosing one. He offered to do a lot more work than the others at a lower price, which now feels like the first mistake we made.

He said he calculates the area using "chhat naap," which includes the 3 ft cantilever, making the total area 860 sq ft. We agreed on a rate of ₹1,400 per sq ft, so the total contract value came to ₹12,04,000.

Before the work started, we explained all our requirements and he agreed to everything. We then signed a written agreement on ₹500 stamp paper at a notary office in the presence of an advocate. The contractor and his father both signed it. He even wrote the payment schedule himself, with payments linked to different stages of construction.

It's been about four months now.

So far, he has only completed the foundation, columns, PCC, roof slab, and the outer 9-inch brick walls. No internal walls have been built yet. There is no plastering, plumbing, electrical work, flooring, painting, or any finishing work.

About 15 days ago, after the roof slab had already been cast, he suddenly claimed that the mumty (staircase room) is not included in the agreed 860 sq ft area. According to him, the mumty area has to be charged separately. We were always under the impression that the entire construction, including the mumty, was covered within the agreed 860 sq ft. This completely disrupted our budget because we are not in a position to pay anything beyond the agreed contract amount.

To avoid any dispute, we even told him not to build the mumty at all and simply complete the remaining work within the agreed 860 sq ft area. However, he refused to do that as well.

Even though only this much work has been completed, we have already paid him around 66% of the total contract amount as per the agreement.

Now he has completely stopped coming to the site. He says he has already spent ₹1.5 lakh from his own pocket, cannot continue the work, and wants us to pay him that amount and let him leave the project. He has even said that he doesn't care about the agreement and that he won't bear any loss.

We have the signed agreement, payment records, WhatsApp chats, and photos/videos of the construction.

What are our legal options? Can he simply walk away from the contract like this? Can he legally demand extra money that isn't mentioned in the agreement? Can we recover the additional amount we'll have to spend to hire another contractor to finish the house?

Any advice from lawyers or anyone who has dealt with a similar situation would be greatly appreciated.