Will the centre refund the ₹160 Cr TDS amount to BCCI?

A major topic of discussion among the Indian cricket fraternity is the story of how the BCCI plans to recover the TDS amount of ₹160 crores for hosting the World T20 next year.

Sources say that it is getting increasingly difficult for the BCCI to recover the amount which the government had the board for hosting the 2016 T20 World Championship in the country.

The International Cricket Council (ICCI) deducted the sum from BCCI’s share a few years ago, and the Indian cricket board was asked to bring the money back to earn the rights to earn more World Cups.

However, the cash-strapped government is struggling in its battle against Covid-19 and may find it tough to refund the money to BCCI. This, in turn, is a loss to all its state associations.

Earlier, the official broadcaster had paid the taxable amount to the Indian government and later subtracted the amount while making its payment to the ICC.

BCCI might not be able to host the 2021 World Cup

Sources said that a few of the top BCCI bosses recently met the finance ministry’s bigwigs but couldn’t find a solution to the problem. The finance ministry has a valid point -- Why should the tax rebate be given to cricket when it is a money-spinner for everyone, and why should the government not get its share?

Sources told Sportskeeda that there could be a huge backlash from the opposition parties if BCCI is given tax rebate at the time when the entire world is fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

“If giving a tax rebate of $26 million was that easy, the government wouldn’t have taken such a long time,” a source said.

None of the board officials and the members of the finance ministry were available for comments. In this backdrop, some of the board officials are worried if the 2021 World T20 could take place in India.

“The 2011 World Cup at home was made possible because the Indian government was willing to see the World Cup happening at home. A similar procedure was applied when India hosted F1 and the Under-17 World Cup, but the government can’t be seen giving tax rebate when everything else is taxable,” another source explained.