Customs dispute puts 2011 Indian Grand Prix in jeopardy – Formula 1 news
The 2011 Indian Grand Prix which is due to begin in October this year, just six weeks down the Formula 1 calendar, has recently been surrounded by customs-related issues.
The Indian government has imposed a customs tax on the race’s organisers – Jaypee Sports International (JPSI), who have been asked to pay a mandatory customs tax on all goods and equipments that gain temporary entry into the country for the upcoming Indian
GP. According to a rough estimate, the organisers may have to pay up to Rs. 6 billion.
This, however, is not a standard practice followed by other countries who do not charge any duty from the teams for the equipments that enter their country to be used at the race circuits. In case of all other races that take place at various racetracks
all around the globe, there is a custom bonded area that allows for duty-free entry and exit of all Formula 1 equipment.
JPSI has been trying to get an exemption from the custom-duty and taxes but all their efforts have been in vain so far as the Indian government is not willing to grant them an exemption. The latter has rejected to approve the exemption on grounds that Formula
1 is more of an entertainment than a sport.
S D Majumder, the chairman of the Central Board of Excise and Customs spoke to PTI and said, “Exemption cannot be granted to JPSI since the F1 race is not an event of national importance, but that it would get back the majority of the Custom Duty.”
Majumder further added, “When equipments are imported for sports events of national importance, the Sports Ministry issues a certificate, on the basis of which Customs Department issues exemption notification subject to them (equipment) getting exported
back. For Commonwealth Games and the (cricket) World Cup, those certificates were issued, so we gave exemption.”
The Indian Customs department is still quite stringent at its stance and has made it very clear that any equipment that enters the country for the race has to pay the custom-duty.
Let’s wait and see how the organisers tackle this situation and what further developments take place prior to the Indian Grand Prix.
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