“There is an inquiry, it is not a raid. The income tax officials are possibly looking for the details of the tender (for Kochi team). We will extend all possible cooperation to them,” IPL commissioner Lalit Modi said.
Immediately after the income tax officials visited the offices of BCCI-IPL at Wankhede stadium, Modi rushed to the headquarters to meet them. There were reports, earlier this week, that income tax and Enforcement Directorate could seek the details of the IPL franchise, particularly Kochi in the face of a major controversy involving some of the promoters.
Modi had divulged names of the Kochi franchise while alleging that Minister of State for External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor had asked him not to reveal the names of the promoters which included Sunanda Pushkar, a close friend of his.
Earlier on Thursday morning, a special team of the Income Tax Department visited the headquarters of the cash-rich T20 Indian Premiere League (IPL) in connection with an inquiry into financial details and share holding patterns of all the IPL franchisees.
Sources maintained that the visit cannot be termed as a “survey or a search” and that it was undertaken under Section 133 (6) of the Income Tax Act which pertains to the power to call for information. The team also sought some documents.
The income tax department has created a special cell in Mumbai to keep a tab on all income generated by the IPL, the sources said. It said the probe has been initiated to find out if there is any illegal flow of funds or whether any black money in being pumped into the sporting extravaganza including from foreign shores.—Agencies
