Competition Commission hands over a 52 crore penalty to the BCCI

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been stricken to pay a penalty of 52.24 crores by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for committing anti-competitive practices in relation to IPL media rights. The board was also fined for the same mistake, back in 2013. The Commission stated that the heavy amount of penalty is almost 4.48 percent of the total average earnings of the BCCI in the last three accounting years.

They issued a 44-page order explaining the whole matter and it also contains the complete details of the issue. A key point to be noted here is that the BCCI was penalized the same amount of money in 2013. The richest board in the sport had an average turnover worth Rs 1,164.7 crore for the periods- 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16.

BCCI penalized

The Competition Commission stated that the assessment has made the whole matter pretty much clear. All the activities of the board have come to notice in the present situation. It was also revealed that BCCI has a relatively higher turnover in present, that compared with 2013.

“The assessment of the Commission clearly brings out that the impugned clause in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Media Rights Agreement has been pursued by BCCI consciously to protect the commercial interest of the bidders of broadcasting rights as well as the economic interest of BCCI,” said CCI as quoted by TOI.

The commission also clarified the reason for the value of penalty being the same in both the years, when the turnover in both the years differs.

“BCCI knowing this had foreclosed the competition by openly declaring that it was not going to sanction any other event. BCCI undermined the moral responsibility of a custodian and de facto regulator,” said the CCI statement back in 2013 case.