The Paraguayan Senate reportedly granted approval regarding a bill on July 14th, forming a tax and regulatory framework dedicated to firms functioning in the overall crypto sphere and the crypto mining industries.

Specifically, the bill, reportedly rolled out in July last year by Senator Fernando Silva Facetti and received greenlight in Congress in May prior to being proposed to the Senate, urges the establishment of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC) to keep an oversight on crypto sphere service providers. 

The bill is reportedly at its final stage prior to official enactment as law by President Mario Abdo Benítez.

A notice from Congress in May further revealed that the bill pertains particularly to crypto mining, commercialization, intermediation, exchange, transfer, custody and/or administration of crypto assets or instruments, which enable oversight over crypto assets.

Firms currently doing business in the crypto sphere would reportedly receive the same treatment as the ones interacting with securities for tax purposes. Consequently, they will receive exemption from the Undersecretary of State for Taxation, regarding the payment of a value-added tax (VAT), but must adhere to the income tax regime.

The bill reportedly takes into account the way crypto miners should interact with local power suppliers. It will be mandatory for prospective mining operations to report their energy consumption schedule to the National Electricity Administration (ANDE), Paraguay’s national electricity regime. 

Should the electricity consumption of miners are detected to exceed their plans, ANDE may cut off the supply.

Although the bill stipulates that energy costs for miners will be subsidized, they will pay a rate of 15% over the standard one of other sectors.

Different reports suggested that Senator Facetti revealed that modifications made to the bill over the last year “improved the original project.”