As the ICC vs BCCI tax battle takes an ugly turn after the ICC Business Corporation (ICCBC) rejecting the Indian board’s request to extend the deadline to solve the issue, a BCCI official has expressed confidence in the international body that they will not commit any “harakiri” and blamed a “vested interest” for the entire fiasco.
According to news agency IANS, a BCCI official said that the Indian board has full faith in the directors of the international body and believe that they will not commit harakiri by taking the global event away from India.
“It is not the ICC, but some vested interests that come up with this story from time to time. Most of the ICC Directors are prudent and pragmatic and they would not permit these vested interests to lead the ICC down the path of harakiri. If they take this step, I assure you that the BCCI would still be laughing when the pieces fall, but the ICC would be worse for the wear,” the official said.
“It is time for the ICC to move away from people who merely bring disputes with BCCI to the table and nothing else in terms of contribution. Anyone propped by such people will also be unacceptable.”
The issue was brought into light by a report of ESPNcricinfo on Tuesday which stated that the ICC sending BCCI warning-like e-mails for the past two months 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, had reportedly wanted the deadline to be extended till June 30 and cited 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.
With IANS inputs.