The Indian Cricket Board no longer enjoys the tax exemptions it got in the guise of being a charitable organisation but the government does not plan to bring it under the ambit of audit by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
"The (tax) exemption was disallowed for the year 2007-08, during scrutiny proceedings, as it was held that the BCCI is no longer promoting cricket as a charitable activity and is now, primarily a commercial entity," Minister of State of finance S S Palanimanickam said in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
The minister said the government, however, does not plan to bring the BCCI under CAG's ambit.
Earlier, the Income Tax department, in its assessment of the BCCI had stated that "Cricket is only incidental to its scheme of things. It is more into prize money for every run or wicket, which is nothing short of a gimmick."
"The conduct of certain activities and receipt of income from these activities clearly show that these activities are totally commercial and there is no element of charity in the conduct of BCCI. It is evident that major income arises not from the game of cricket but from the business of cricket," the order had stated.
