No tax for BCCI, but 40% GST for IPL fans: Harsh Goenka slams govt's latest tax move

Industrialist Harsh Goenka has called out the government’s GST 2.0, highlighting the contrast in the sports ecosystem as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) continues to enjoy tax exemptions, even as Indian Premier League (IPL) fans will now have to pay more to watch matches from stadiums.

Under the revised GST structure, tickets for the cash-rich IPL and other premium sporting events have moved from 28 per cent to 40 per cent, placing them in the same bracket as casinos, race clubs, and luxury goods.

“Great GST reforms. Kudos! A small thing comes to mind: No tax for BCCI- good. But increased 40% GST on IPL tickets. Incredible India: where cricket is a religion, the board is God, IPL is the temple, and the fans, the devotees, have to pay a higher offering,” Goenka wrote on X (formerly Twitter).



For cricket fans, this means higher prices across ticket categories:

• A ₹500 ticket now costs ₹700, up from ₹640
  
  
• A ₹1,000 ticket now costs ₹1,400, up from ₹1,280
  
  
• A ₹2,000 ticket now costs ₹2,800, up from ₹2,560
  
  

The increase effectively adds ₹120 extra on every ₹1,000 spent, a 10 per cent jump compared with the earlier rate.

By contrast, regular international and domestic cricket matches continue to draw 18 per cent GST. This makes the IPL and similar leagues the only sporting events placed in the highest tax slab.

At the same time, cinema-goers benefit from tax relief. Tickets priced up to ₹100 will now attract 5 per cent GST with input tax credit, down from 12 per cent. Higher-priced movie tickets remain taxed at 18 per cent.

The new GST framework aims to classify IPL match-viewing as discretionary, luxury spending — similar to how betting or tobacco consumption is taxed. But the move has ignited debate online, with many echoing Goenka’s view that cricket fans, who sustain the sport’s popularity, are being penalised while the BCCI stays outside the tax net.