ICC T20 World Cup – BCCI Tax Exemption Issue: It seems like IPL 2021 Phase 2, T20 World Cup in October is all set to move out of India. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has to comply with ICC deadline of 28th June to decide on the final status of the T20 World Cup in India. And despite of their good offices and reach, BCCI is yet to solve the issue of tax exemption with the Indian government. Sourav Ganguly & Jay Shah led board was supposed to get a tax exemption from the Indian government for the World Cup by this deadline. However, Arun Dhumal, BCCI’s treasurer told InsideSport.co that the BCCI is still in talks with the Indian government on the tax exemption issue and no final decision has been arrived.
While Tuesday, June 15, was supposed to be the last day to get the guarantees on tax exemption from the government, Arun Dhumal said that the board is still in talks with the government.
“There is no update on the tax issue. The talks with the government are still ongoing and we can only say something at a later stage. The last day won’t be a problem,” Arun Dhumal told InsideSport.co
The ICC T20 World Cup, originally scheduled to be played in India between October and November is doubtful due to India’s monsoon season and the potential threat of COVID-19 situation in the country. Instead, BCCI is exploring UAE as an alternative option to host the matches. While shifting the venue out of India remains a possibility, BCCI is yet to make an official announcement. It is expected that the BCCI will make an announcement on June 28 when it is supposed to intimate the ICC about its decision.
However, with the current financial situation of the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian government is unlikely to budge to BCCI’s request. That would mean, the BCCI will have to cough up Rs 906 crore to the ICC. An absence of exemption could also force ICC to withhold future events. But if the BCCI does get a partial tax exemption guarantee, it will still have to pay around Rs 227 crore to the ICC.
Issues BCCI yet to sort out regarding ICC T20 World Cup:
Even though the Sourav Ganguly-led Indian cricket board has already decided on hosting the remaining IPL 2021 matches in the UAE, it is yet to make an announcement on the ICC T20 World Cup. The reasons are:
COVID situation: BCCI is still monitoring the situation in India and if things improve by June end, India could still play the host. The situation has drastically improved but the threat remains.
Tax exemption issue: The bone of contention between the BCCI and ICC is the tax exemption issue and the Indian board is yet to receive any relaxation from the government. If it doesn’t get an exemption, BCCI will have to pay the ICC more than Rs 906 crore. In case of a partial exemption, BCCI will end up paying over Rs 200 crore.
Venues: While BCCI was supposed to host ICC T20 World Cup in nine venues across nine Indian states, all the said states are on high alert due to a possible third wave of COVID-19 during September-October. That may see the states pulling out from hosting the World Cup matches in their venues. If BCCI decides to keep world cup in India itself – than there is a high possibility of number of venues to be reduced to 3-4 from 9.
Clash with IPL 2021 Phase 2: BCCI is still trying to adjust the dates of the ICC T20 World Cup so that it does not clash with IPL 2021. The World Cup starts tentatively from October 18 and IPL 2021 is slated to end on October 15.