IPL-4 to be taxed

In a new twist to the IPL controversy involving the ruling NCP, Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal of the NCP said here on Saturday that the Maharashtra government had decided to levy the entertainment tax on IPL from the next season in 2011.

"At a meeting held last month, the State Cabinet decided to impose entertainment tax on IPL from the next season. The minutes that meeting were confirmed by the State Cabinet at a meeting held on Thursday," Bhujbal told The Pioneer here.

Bhujbal's statement came as a big surprise considering that the state had all along maintained that no decision had so far been taken in this regard even during the hearings of a PIL - filed by Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai seeking the levy of entertainment tax on IPL - held before the division bench of the Bombay High Court on April 23 and May 5, 2010.

In the April 23 hearing the high court had demanded to know from the DF government as to why it was dithering on deciding to levy entertainment tax on IPL matches played in Maharashtra, while the HC division observed in the May 5 hearing: ". prima facie this activity (IPL matches) is covered under entertainment tax. If there is no exemption, then state has no option but to recover it".

The State government had remained silent even when it tabled (April 24) in the State Legislature the latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which rapped the Ashok Chavan administration for its failure to levy entertainment tax on the IPL matches played in Maharashtra to the extent of Rs 4.99 crores during 2008.

When asked as to why the state government did not inform the Bombay High Court on May 5 that it had decided to levy entertainment tax on IPL from the next season, Bhujbal simply said: "I don't know anything about it".

In this regard, both Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and Revenue Minister Narayan Rane of the Congress were not available for comment.