Hit Ticket – Daily Pioneer

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Harsh Goenka, a well-known Mumbai-based industrialist, is known to be outspoken, even cheeky in his social media posts. In an outlandish reverse sweep, he took on the Government’s GST’s ‘doosra.’ His latest tweet on X: “No tax for BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), good. But increased 40 per cent GST on IPL (Indian Premier League) tickets.” He said this was the new ‘Incredible India,’ where cricket is a religion, the Board is God, IPL is the temple, the cricket fans, or the devotees need to pay a higher offering. It was a clean hook off the front foot, and the ball landed in the stands.
There was another dichotomy. The GST on tickets for regular international and domestic matches remains at 18 per cent, but the tax on IPL was pushed up from 28 per cent to 40 per cent (the sin tax applicable on tobacco, high-end cars, and business flight travel). The Government is clear that the League is not really cricket, it is more of an entertainment enjoyed by the elite. Which is possibly wrong as one knows of hundreds of middle-class homes, who save to buy relatively-expensive IPL tickets so that their children can get a glimpse of the cricketing stars from a vantage position of deep cover.
For years, the BCCI, which claims to be a non-profit entity, has strived, fought and battled to retain its tax exemption status. In its 2023-24 annual, the Board noted that the income tax appellate body ruled (2021) that the former was “entitled to continuance of registration under Section 12A of the Income Tax (which allows zero tax for non-profit entities like trusts, welfare societies, NGOs and religious bodies) ….” The income tax authority has appealed in the Bombay High Court. However, acting prudently, the BCCI continues to recognise the liability, which amounted to `7,362 crore as on March 31, 2024, and pertains to the past six years since 2018-19.
In August 2018, the Board amended its Constitution to avail of the tax exemptions under Section 12A. But it has defended against the tax googlies for years before it. Based on professional advice, the Board, as stated in the annual report, “believes that no provision for income tax is required to be made in respect of the prior years and until the change to the Constitution… aggregating `7,453 crore as it believes that it has a good case to avail the (tax) exemption… notwithstanding the demands/disputes raised by the income tax department which have been challenged… before various appellate/judicial authorities.” If pre- and post-2018 demands are combined, the BCCI disputed taxes stand at almost `15,000 crore.
Do not forget that the BCCI is the richest cricket body in the world, and by far the wealthiest sport body in the country. In 2023-24, it clocked an annual revenue of more than `9,700 crore, of which almost 60 per cent was the surplus from IPL. The money that was handed over by the International Cricket Council, which shares its profits with member nations, was just over `1,000 crore. The Board is raking in more money from the League, as compared to the international matches. But only the fans pay the taxes, and that too in a sinful way. A clear case of hit wicket, or shall we say, hit ticket.

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