- BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said the board pays around Rs 3,000 crore in income tax annually.
- The board says cricket needs a formal designated sport notification before the National Sports Governance Act applies.
- The Supreme Court will hear the board’s clarification on October 27, 2026.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said on September 18, 2026, that the board pays around Rs 3,000 crore in income tax each year, placing the disclosure at the center of a dispute over the National Sports Governance Act, 2025. He spoke after the board’s 95th annual general meeting in Mumbai.
Members reportedly applauded when Saikia cited the figure. The meeting took place at the Wankhede Stadium complex, according to reports identifying the venue more specifically.
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The board’s tax position came days after the Supreme Court questioned why it and state cricket associations should not fall under the new sports-law framework. Saikia answered that the organization does not receive government grants, unlike many other sports bodies.
The BCCI says it is not resisting the law. It argues that cricket must first receive the designation and notification required under the legislation.
Saikia gave the tax figure in direct terms:
“We are paying taxes amounting to Rs 3,000 crore on an average annually,”
The disclosure was framed as a response to the belief that the cricket body benefits from broad tax exemption. Its argument combines two points: it contributes heavily through taxes, and it finances itself rather than relying on state funding.
Cricket still needs a formal designation before the board acts
The dispute turns on the steps required before the law can apply to cricket. Saikia said the relevant authorities must complete those exercises and issue a notification making cricket a “designated sport.”
Until that happens, he said, the board has no action to take under the statute. Once the notification arrives, he said, the organization will follow the rules set out in the new law.
That position followed the Supreme Court’s question about both the national board and state associations. The court’s inquiry put the governance issue before the board’s annual meeting and prompted the explanation about cricket’s present legal status.
The board’s public position is therefore conditional, not categorical. It says compliance will begin after the government completes the required process.
The Supreme Court will hear the board’s clarification on October 27
Saikia also set a date for the next response. The matter is listed before the Supreme Court on October 27, 2026.
He described the board’s position this way:
“Regarding the Sports Act, our stand is very clear. There are a lot of things which have to be done by the concerned authority. Once those exercises are completed and once the BCCI comes under the Sports Act, a particular notification has to be issued to make it a designated sport. Till that time, we are not supposed to do anything. Whenever that notification comes, immediately we will spring into action. We will do our job as per the rules of the new Sports Act. So, as of today, there is nothing like what was discussed in the Supreme Court that day. We will give the clarification on October 27, when the matter will be listed next time.”
The scheduled hearing gives the board a formal opportunity to explain why it believes the notification process has not yet triggered its obligations. It also gives the court a date to revisit the position of the board and state-level cricket organizations.
The tax argument draws on the board’s self-funded model
The BCCI has contrasted its finances with those of sports federations that depend on public grants. The organization says it operates without government funding while paying taxes to the exchequer.
That distinction has appeared in earlier institutional findings. The Central Information Commission held that the BCCI is not a public authority under the RTI Act, 2005, because it does not receive government grants.
The finding forms part of the board’s broader argument for separate treatment under the sports-law framework. Other sports bodies rely on grants, while the cricket organization says it funds itself.
The annual meeting placed that argument alongside the tax disclosure rather than presenting the payment as a change in the board’s legal status. The central question remains whether cricket will be formally designated under the 2025 Act.
The next listed hearing is October 27, 2026. Saikia said the board will provide its clarification then.
