The International Cricket Council has warned India that it will have to sort out the issue of tax exemption immediately if it wants to host next year's Champions Trophy.
ICC president Ehsan Mani said despite discussing the subject with Indian officials last month, the cricket body is yet to receive a response from the government about granting of tax exemption for the Champions Trophy.
Mani had discussed the issue with Union Finance minister P Chidambaram and Sports Minister Sunil Dutt during a visit to India last month. The ICC is trying to ensure that the Indian government does not impose tax on the income from the Champions Trophy, the most important cricket tournament after the World Cup.
"ICC gets tax exemption for every event it holds in any part of the world. If we don't get the tax clarification on due time, than we may have to take a decision on whether to stage the tournament in India," Mani told reporters in Delhi on Wednesday, on the eve of the ICC's two-day Executive Board meeting, starting on Thursday.
The ICC chief said India's stand on tax-related matters could affect its bids to hold future events.
"India is seeking to hold high-profile events, including the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games besides the ICC events. India needs to address this issue immediately. They must have absolute clarity on the issue," he said, adding that the ICC is still facing tax-related matters of the 1996 World Cup.
Mani said the ICC is seeking exemption since it wants to promote cricket worldwide by using the money saved.
"Our aim is to maximise the money and give it back to the game. We have to safeguard the interest of our members."
He said he is hopeful of getting a response from the government in the next two days, failing which the ICC would take a decision on the issue within a week.
ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed, who is also in Delhi in connection with the Board meeting, said that last edition of the Champions Trophy could not be held in India for the same reason.
Speed also said the meeting would consider proposals on making the biennial event an eight-team affair.
"We will discuss the current method of 12-team competition and see whether the tournament can serve better by being an eight-nation affair -- the eight top teams in the world fighting for the title."
Over the next two days, the ICC is likely to face a tough time in dealing with several issues concerning world cricket.
Speed said the meeting will consider a report on the recent developments in Kenyan cricket including the Kenyan government's decision to derecognize the Kenyan Cricket Association, the creation of Cricket Kenya, the legal issues that have arisen as a result of these moves and the decision to withhold ICC funding to the KCA pending the resolution of these issues.
"It's quite a complicated issue and there is strong differences between the two bodies," Speed added.
The Board will also consider a series of other key issues, including Speed's report on the currently suspended Project USA, which was aimed at staging international cricket in America.
A number of governance reforms, recommended by the ICC governance review committee, relating to the selection and term of the ICC president, the restructure of the board of the
ICC's commercial arm, ICC Development (International) Ltd (IDI), and the provision of voting rights at the ICC annual conference to representatives of ICC affiliate members would also come up for discussion.
The Board will be asked to approve a number of changes in the Memorandum and Articles of the ICC and its commercial arm IDI, to help streamline and improve the administration of the sport.
If approved, the changes will then be proposed to the ICC's annual conference in June 2005 for ratification by the members.
In addition to the current Future Tours Programme (FTP) that sees all Test-playing countries play each other once at home and once away in a five-year cycle, a number of options over a four, five or six-year cycle have been identified for the Board to consider should it believe that it is necessary to move away from the current system.
It will also discuss the decision to relocate the ICC headquarters from London to Dubai in August this year, Speed said.
