Both the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) are working in tandem with each other to resolve an ongoing tax issue that has threatened India’s right to host the T20 World Cup next year.
“The ICC and BCCI have been working in partnership to address the issue of tax exemptions for ICC events that is a requirement of the host agreement signed by all parties at the beginning of the cycle in 2015 and this work is ongoing,” the ICC spokesperson said as quoted by ANI.
“There are certain timelines within the agreements that we collectively work towards to ensure we can deliver successful world-class events and continue to invest in the sport of cricket. In addition to this the ICC Board agreed to clear timelines for the resolution of the tax issues which we are guided by,” the spokesperson added.
According to a report by ESPNcricinfo on Tuesday, the international body has been sending BCCI a flurry of blunt e-mails for the past two months. Reportedly, the ICC asked the Indian board to provide an “unconditional confirmation” by May 18 that a solution had been found to the longstanding tax issue in coordination with the Indian government.
The BCCI, on its part, has asked for an extension of the deadline till June 30 citing the COVID-19 crisis as the reason to invoke the force majeure clause [unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract] in the agreement. However, the ICC has denied the request.
Failing to get the issue solved may see India losing the hosting rights of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. According to the international governing body’s host agreement signed by all the member boards, tax exemption is a must to stage an ICC competition.