Tax dues: DDCA frets over fate of India-South Africa Test, seeks Arvind Kejriwal’s help

Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla will host the fourth and final Test between India and South Africa from December 3. (Source: File)

An assessment order relating to entertainment tax served on the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) directing it to pay Rs 24.45 crore has come as a spoke in the wheel in the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium hosting the fourth Test against South Africa.

The order — dated October 21, 2015 — asks the cricket association to deposit the amount within 15 days from the receipt failing which ‘necessary action will be initiated under the provisions of the Delhi Entertainments and Betting Tax Act 1996’.

While the DDCA is willing to pay an estimated Rs 1 crore as advance entertainment tax for the fourth and final Test, officials are worried that the excise, entertainment and luxury tax office, which falls under the Delhi government, won’t give them the green signal for the match because of pending dues.

A Delhi government source said a decision on ‘clearance for the Test match’ by the tax office will be taken only once the DDCA makes an official appeal. “DDCA has the option of appealing to the commissioner of entertainment tax. As of now they have to follow the directions of the assessment order,” the government source said.

DDCA treasurer Ravinder Manchanda said an appeal would be made to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to put on hold the entertainment tax assessment order. “I will make an appeal to the chief minister of Delhi to give us more time to sort out the entertainment tax issue. I hope to meet the chief minister and request him to ensure that the clearance is received from the entertainment tax office for the conduct of the Test match against South Africa. At the moment we don’t want to go to court against the assessment order because it will be time consuming. The Test match is just over a month away and I hope the DDCA gets all the necessary clearances,” Manchanda said.

The functioning of the DDCA has been afflicted by in-fighting among office bearers, misappropriation of funds, cases of corruption and embezzlement of funds involving administrators, which has also resulted in bank accounts of the association being frozen.

Plagued by administrative limbo and facing a shortage of funds — because balance sheets of two years have not been submitted to the Indian cricket board, which releases subvention money to associations — the DDCA also opted out of conducting the T20 warm-up game of the South Africa tour. Eventually, the match had to be hosted at the Air Force Ground at Palam instead of the Feroz Shah Kotla.

In August the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had released an amount of Rs 4 crore to the DDCA after an appeal was made by the state association for funds to pay pending umpires fees, match fees to players and scorers. The DDCA is banking on the BCCI to once again bail them out so that it can host the fourth and final Test against South Africa.