BCCI owes Rs.373 crore to Income Tax dept

NEW DELHI: Board of Cricket Control (BCCI), the world’s richest sports body, owes around 373 crores taxes to the Income Tax department as per the last assessment carried for the period of year

NEW DELHI: Board of Cricket Control (BCCI), the world’s richest sports body, owes around 373 crores taxes to the Income Tax department as per the last assessment carried for the period of year 2009-10. The department expects the figures to multiply several times once the assessment for the period of 2010-11 and 2011-12 are finalized.

In an RTI (Right to Information) reply, MK Dalal, the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Central Circle, Mumbai said that the BCCI used to get an income tax exemption as a charitable organisation but now that exemption has been withdrawn and its earnings now come under business income.

Responding to RTI’s activist Subhash Aggarwal application, the IT department revealed that the BCCI earned over `964 crore during the period of 2009-10. The tax liability was over `413 crore but so far, the cricket’s body has paid on Rs 41.91.

It also informed that the assessment for the years 2010-11 and 2011-12 is still pending.

The finance ministry withdrew tax exemption granted to the BCCI from the financial year 2007-08 after it amended rules and added new objectives in its memorandum that included setting up coaching academies and conducting IPL Twenty-20 tournaments.

The tax department found out that the cricket’s body income has soared exponentially due to its commercial ventures. In exemption withdrawal’s order it held that the cricket body was no longer promoting cricket as a charitable activity and was now primarily a commercial entity’.

However cricket body has refused to pay income tax arguing that it was still a charitable organisation and hence exempted from paying taxes. At present, both are engaged in a legal battle before a tax tribunal.

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