Allowing tax exemption to cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar was a mistake and the income tax department will take corrective measures soon, N B Singh, chief commissioner of income tax (Mumbai) said in Mumbai on Wednesday.

He told media persons that the department will find out how the mistake occurred.

The two cricket stars were granted deduction by the department while calculating their income tax on foreign incomes, which was available to certain categories like artists, sportsmen, authors among others.

However, the Comptroller and Auditor General report had pointed out that Tendulkar had earned the money in capacity of a model while Gavaskar had earned money by being a commentator, the category which also does not qualify for deduction.