IPL being sports promotion, not liable to tax: ITAT

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the country’s wealthiest sports body, has won this round of the taxman’s battle.

In an appeal filed by the BCCI, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) upheld the sports body’s arguments that even though it makes money through the Indian Premier League, the object of promoting cricket remains intact, and thus its income should be tax-free. The decision was made in an order dated November 2.

The BCCI had approached the Mumbai bench of the ITAT in response to three show-cause notices issued by the revenue department in 2016-17, requesting that the tax exemption granted to the BCCI under Section 12 A of the Income Tax Act not be revoked for generating income through the IPL.

The ITAT ruled that, while the IPL may be more profitable, the BCCI is entitled to tax breaks as long as the BCCI’s primary goal of promoting cricket is maintained.