HC unhappy with tax exemption

“If industrialists are party to it, why special exemption is being given by the state to the IPL? This is a serious issue,” the court said.

While asking the state government to clarify whether it intended to impose entertainment tax on IPL, a division bench of Justices P B Majmudar and Rajesh Ketkar also commented upon consumption of electricity due to the day-night matches.

“Government should have some control on this...such a waste of electricity, only for this entertainment?” the judges said, referring to power cuts in neighbouring townships while a semi-final match took place in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday.

Earlier, during the arguments, judges quipped, “Is this (IPL) an entertainment or a sports activity?”

Seeking to know whether the IPL was a profiteering activity, the judges asked the BCCI and IPL to give information on the income generated from T-20 matches that were played in Maharashtra. The court’s directive came in response to a PIL filed by a Shiv Sena MLA demanding that the state collect entertainment tax from the IPL.