2023 World Cup could be moved out of India: report
India last hosted the ODI World Cup in 2011 along with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as co-hosts
The ICC ODI World Cup 2023 could be moved out of India due to tax issues with the local government.
For the ICC ODI World Cup, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has requested that BCCI obtain tax exemptions from the Indian government.
The host nation must get the necessary tax exemptions from its own government, according to ICC policy.
However, the BCCI couldn't get a deal done with their government for the T20 World Cup 2016, which caused the governing body to suffer financial loss.
The T20 World Cup 2016 was held in India, and the Indian Government did not grant any tax exemptions to the ICC.
Additionally, the Indian government has made no similar declarations on the upcoming ODI World Cup.
According to reports, the BCCI has warned the ICC that nothing can be done about this situation and that they are free to move the tournament outside of India if they choose to.
The Indian government denied the BCCI any tax benefits for the 2016 T20 World Cup. As a result of the ruling, BCCI also suffered a loss of Rs. 190 crores (US$22m), which the ICC deducted as a tax surcharge from BCCI's revenue share. That lawsuit is still being pursued by BCCI with the ICC tribunal.
Meanwhile, sources from BCCI have told News18 that if the ICC does not receive tax waivers from the Indian government, it will be deducted from BCCI's earnings, which will result in a court dispute.
"It’s BCCI’s money. If the ICC can't settle this issue before the World Cup arrives and end up deducting it from India’s revenue share from the ICC, even this will end up in a legal battle. What will the government tell its tax-paying citizens? That the only sport in this country that earns money will be exempt from taxes? How well will that sit? There’s no way the government will say anything on this," the sources said.
If the ICC doesn't receive the tax exemptions, they will only be left with three options.
Either they must persuade their members to abandon the taxes, or they must persuade India to abandon the tournament. As they did during the 2016 T20 World Cup, they can also let off the tax bill and deduct the sum from BCCI's share.
India last hosted the ODI World Cup in 2011 along with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as co-hosts. However, they are the only host this time.
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