Trouble seems to be brewing between the International Cricket Council (ICC) and its richest member, Indian counterpart, the Board for Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) – the reason for this bad blood – The Income Tax Department.
The ICC gets tax exemptions from all member agencies from different nations, such as BCCI for conducting global events in the host nation. However, the ICC didn’t get any tax exemption for the 2016 T20 World Cup hosted by India because tax laws in India don’t allow such leeway.
Incidentally, non tax exemption was one of the major reasons why the Formula One race was cancelled in India in 2016 due to a dispute with the Uttar Pradesh Government which now says that F1 is not a sport, but entertainment and wants to levy taxes accordingly on the event.
ICC expects to be compensated for bearing this tax liability, and the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) has been asked by the ICC to bear a tax liability to the tune of $ 21 million (₹ 150 crore ) for conducting future global events like the 2021 T20 World Cup and the 2023 ODI World Cup. In fact, the ICC had previously threatened, that should India fail to cough up this amount, it would look at “other options” to host the 2023 World Cup scheduled to be held in India.
ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar, who also happened to be BCCI’s former President, insisted that the Indian board will have to pay the tax liability, in case it is not able to get a tax exemption from the Income Tax Department.
The BCCI representatives have apparently asked for time till the completion of general elections, as a new government may take a more accommodative stance on the matter, which has been granted by the parent body.
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