The tax assessment proceedings against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be completed by December for four assessment years till 2006-07, the finance ministry said on Friday. The income tax department has recovered around Rs 249 crore from BCCI for assessment years 2007-08 and 2008-09, minister of state for finance S S Palanimanickam told Paliament.
While the demand of over Rs 118 crore was raised for assessment year 2007-08 and the whole amount was recovered, almost half of the amount demanded at Rs 257 crore for a year later was recovered, according to the minister’s written reply in the Lok Sabha.
He clarified that income tax is chargeable from cricket boards and cricket players in the same manner as it is charged from any person. “Under the Income Tax Act, 1961, the cricket players do not constitute any distinct category of taxpayers.”
To a question about the details of income tax received from cricket players during the last four years, Palanimanickam said just the perusal of a return cannot help ascertain whether they pertained to a cricket player or any other individual since there is no such information seeking column in the relevant tax return form.
“Accordingly, the income tax department does not maintain any information in a centralised manner regarding tax paid by the cricket players or any other sportsperson,” he added. However, information could be provided if specific names are provided, the MoS said.
Earlier, Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance had slammed the income tax department for being “lenient” to the BCCI.
