BCCI paid Rs. 4298 crore in income tax over five years

India’s cricket board, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), paid Rs 4298 crore in income tax over the last five years ending in the 2021-21 financial year. Union Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, revealed the figures during a statement in the Rajya Sabha on August 8. In the last five years, BCCI contributed Rs 844.92 crore in 2020-21, Rs 882.29 crore in 2019-20, Rs 815.08 crore in 2018-19, Rs 596.63 crore in 2017-18, and an additional Rs 1,159.20 crore in the most recent financial year. Additionally, Chaudhary presented a look into BCCI’s finances which said the richest board had a surplus of Rs 4542 crore in the 2021-22 fiscal year. In the two previous years, 2020-21 and 2019-20, it had profits of Rs 1650 crore and Rs 2700 crore respectively. The disclosure came in response to a question by a member Anil Desai. The member’s queries were as follows: “(a) Whether the Government is aware that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ranks as the second richest sports body globally, and if so, could the income and expenditure of the BCCI over the past five years be provided? (b) Whether the BCCI has made any income tax payments during the last five years, and if so, could the specifics be elucidated? (c) If not, could the reasons behind this be explained?” The income tax figures go contrary to popular belief that BCCI enjoys exemption from the tax authorities. BCCI’s financial clout cannot be questioned. The board stands to earn approximately $230 million per year between 2024-27 — or 38.5 percent of the International Cricket Council's annual earnings of $600 million. Last year, the BCCI sold the IPL media rights for a whopping Rs 48,390 crores across five years. The board recently floated a tender for media rights for its international and domestic matches which is set to reap another huge windfall.