Indian tax authorities have served notices to online gaming companies demanding about Rs. 1 trillion ($12.03 billion) in taxes that they have allegedly evaded, a government source said yesterday, according to Reuters.

In August, India decided to impose a 28 percent tax on online gaming companies on the total funds deposited to play online games, leading to some firms like Mobile Premier League laying off employees.

“The amount for which show cause notices have been issued to online gaming companies is around 1 trillion rupees,” the government official, who did not want to be named, told reporters, a Reuters report from New Delhi stated.

The Finance Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, Reuters on September 26 had reported that even as the country’s tax authorities slapped a $150 million from Dream11 for underpaying goods and services tax during 2017-2019, the gaming company moved the Mumbai High Court challenging the tax claims.

Dream11 and Indian tax authorities are in a dispute over what tax rates should be paid by such gaming platforms, which have become hugely popular for fantasy cricket games they offer.

Dream11, according to the Reuters report, argues it should pay a tax on fees it charges customers, while Indian authorities are demanding a higher 28 percent tax on total gaming revenue it makes from players, court papers show.

The latest on the Mumbai court case by Dream XI is not known by Indianbroadcastingworld.com.