Explained: How Taxing BCCI's IPL Profits Could Build 10 New IITs

BCCI is the world's wealthiest cricket board. The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been one of the largest sources of revenue for BCCI since years. There has been renewed debate after a recent report on whether BCCI must be taxed along with other commercial entities.

 

BCCI Generated ₹15,000 Crore in 3 Years

 

BCCI has earned about ₹15,000 crore of profits in just the past three years, a study by a professor from Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, says. For IPL 2023 alone, the amount of profit was ₹5,120 crore, and overall revenue touched ₹11,770 crore, largely through media rights. Estimates say that revenues from IPL 2024 and 2025 may range between ₹12,000 and ₹13,500 crore each year.

 

Even though it makes such enormous profits, BCCI does not give income tax. It is a registered charitable organization, and its purpose is reported to be to develop cricket in India. As such a charitable organization, it is exempted from tax, even on huge profits from a commercial venture like IPL.

 

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Taxing BCCI's IPL Profits Could Build 10 New IITs

 

The IISc professor argued that a 40% tax on BCCI’s IPL profits alone could have raised ₹15,000 crore over three years. That amount could fund 10 new IITs or boost funding for science and technology research in the country.

 

If IPL team profits worth ₹800 to ₹1,200 crore every year are also levied with tax, then yet another ₹320 to ₹480 crore can be raised every year. So, a total of ₹6,000 crore every year could be routed for research and development from the IPL alone.

 

Mayank Shrivastava, the IISc Bengaluru professor, Wrote on LinkedIn:

 

"Consider the numbers. In IPL 2023, BCCI earned a record Rs 5,120 crore surplus, with total income reaching Rs 11,770 crore, driven largely by media rights. Projections for IPL 2024 and 2025 estimate annual revenues at 12,000–13,500 crore. And that's just one part of the larger earnings ecosystem. Yet, BCCI enjoys income tax exemptions under charitable status."

 

He added:

 

"If a simple 40% tax applied just on BCCI's IPL profits, nearly Rs 15,000 crores could have been raised over three years — enough to fund 10 new IIT's or a national deep-tech innovation corpus. Add franchise profits (Rs 800 to Rs 1,200 crore/year), and another Rs 320 to Rs 480 crores could be collected annually. In total, nearly Rs 6,000 crores per year could be redirected into research, just from the IPL ecosystem."

 

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Why is There No Tax on BCCI?

 

The primary justification for BCCI not paying income tax is its charity trust registration. Nevertheless, most currently think that its commercial orientation, particularly through the IPL, is a deviation from its initial aim of promoting cricket.

 

Recently, even the Income Tax Department raised concerns, saying BCCI’s main aim seems to have shifted from promoting cricket to making profits. But in February, the Bombay High Court canceled a tax notice issued to BCCI, continuing its exemption.

 

Time to Reconsider?

 

The issue now is whether should still be allowed to have complete tax exemptions when it earns thousands of crores from IPL. Experts believe that even a nominal tax on these profits can benefit India's future, particularly in science, research, and sports infrastructure.