IT Dept Revokes Tax Exemptions Granted to BCCI

The Income Tax department has revoked tax exemptions given to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), saying that there is nothing charitable about it, said reports.

Consequently, the BCCI, which is the world’s richest board, will now have to shell out a whopping Rs 120 crore in tax and pay a penalty too, reported NDTV.

The IT department issued an order to this effect to the border on December 30, report said.

The BCCI had received tax exemptions on the grounds that promoting cricket was a charitable activity.

However, IT department is now of the view that the board has turned totally commercial and its activities cannot be seen as charitable, said report.

“The BCCI has become totally commercial and it is more into prize money for every run or wicket,” the department was quoted as saying.

While revoking tax exemptions, the IT department took into consideration the fact that BCCI had changed its rules to incorporate T-20 matches but had not informed the department about this new commercial venture.

It also bolstered its case by pointing out that the BCCI had done little to develop infrastructure for cricket.