Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi, the BCCI and some of its office-bearers received major relief after the Appellate Tribunal under SAFEMA set aside a key Enforcement Directorate (ED) penalty in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case linked to the 2009 Indian Premier League in South Africa.
The case stemmed from the IPL’s relocation to South Africa due to India’s general elections in 2009. The ED had alleged that overseas remittances of around 243 crore ($49.86 million) made to Cricket South Africa for hosting the tournament violated FEMA provisions.
However, a division bench comprising chairman Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and member Rajesh Malhotra ruled that the payments were legitimate operational expenses and qualified as current account transactions, which did not require prior approval from the Reserve Bank of India. The judgment was delivered on July 16.
In its order, the tribunal described Modi as the “chief architect” behind the organisation of IPL-2 in South Africa and held that there was no material to show he was responsible for BCCI’s statutory FEMA compliance. It termed the penalty imposed on him “wholly erroneous” and set it aside.
Welcoming the verdict, Modi said: “The Tribunal has rejected the central premise on which the Enforcement Directorate’s case against me had been built. It held that the principal foreign remittances relating to IPL 2009 in South Africa were current account transactions, not capital account transactions.”
Calling the ruling a vindication after a prolonged legal battle, Modi added: “For over 16 years I have consistently maintained that I acted in good faith, in the best interests of Indian cricket and the IPL, and committed no personal wrongdoing.”
The tribunal also granted relief to the BCCI and State Bank of India, overturning most of the ED’s 2018 penalty order while retaining only minor fines on the BCCI for administrative delays.
#tribunal #penalty #account
The case stemmed from the IPL’s relocation to South Africa due to India’s general elections in 2009. The ED had alleged that overseas remittances of around 243 crore ($49.86 million) made to Cricket South Africa for hosting the tournament violated FEMA provisions.
However, a division bench comprising chairman Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and member Rajesh Malhotra ruled that the payments were legitimate operational expenses and qualified as current account transactions, which did not require prior approval from the Reserve Bank of India. The judgment was delivered on July 16.
In its order, the tribunal described Modi as the “chief architect” behind the organisation of IPL-2 in South Africa and held that there was no material to show he was responsible for BCCI’s statutory FEMA compliance. It termed the penalty imposed on him “wholly erroneous” and set it aside.
Welcoming the verdict, Modi said: “The Tribunal has rejected the central premise on which the Enforcement Directorate’s case against me had been built. It held that the principal foreign remittances relating to IPL 2009 in South Africa were current account transactions, not capital account transactions.”
Calling the ruling a vindication after a prolonged legal battle, Modi added: “For over 16 years I have consistently maintained that I acted in good faith, in the best interests of Indian cricket and the IPL, and committed no personal wrongdoing.”
The tribunal also granted relief to the BCCI and State Bank of India, overturning most of the ED’s 2018 penalty order while retaining only minor fines on the BCCI for administrative delays.
#tribunal #penalty #account
5 days ago
