NEW DELHI: In a major blow to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday asked the board to pay $23 million (Rs. 1.61 billion) by 31 December as compensation for the tax deductions the governing body incurred when India hosted the World T20 2016, IANS reports.
Should the BCCI fail to do so, the ICC is likely to strip India off the hosting rights for the Men’s World Cup 2023. It has also considered deducting the amount from the revenue share for the ongoing financial year from the board’s coffers. The issue was animatedly debated upon at the ICC board meeting in Singapore in October.
ICC’s grievances stems from the fact that neither the central nor any state government provided any tax exemptions during the 2016 event. As per reports, the BCCI has asked the ICC to share the minutes of the meeting where they had promised to get them a tax waiver. But the ICC, they said, haven’t shared the same as of yet.
It is believed that when former President N Srinivasan was at the helm of BCCI, he did not promise the ICC any compensation for tax deductions if they fail to receive a waiver from the government.
Relations between the ICC and the BCCI have thawed ever since Shashank Manohar was named the former’s chairman in 2015. Ironically, Manohar is said to be instrumental in revamping Srinivasan’s ‘Big Three’ policy which ensured that India, England and Australia will receive a lion’s share of ICC revenues, putting other countries at risk of searching for other means of funding.
