PSL franchises delay submission of bank guarantee

Four out the six PSL franchises haven’t deposited their bank guarantee despite missing the deadline, sources have revealed to the Daily Express.

According to reports, the deadline for submission of bank guarantee ended a couple of months ago but up till now, only two out of six franchises have complied with the rules.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had also given another 14-day deadline — which also ended last month.

According to the rules, the franchises are bound to deposit their annual fees six months before the tournament kicks off.

“Only one franchise deposited its cheque before the deadline, but when the matter was disclosed in the meeting last month, the franchise — who deposited its guarantee — demanded the board to return the cheque,” said a source. “However, the board asked other franchises to follow the procedure and deposit their amounts.”

Furthermore, with the replacement of PCB chairman, the matters regarding the PSL are not running smoothly because the new chairman Ehsan Mani is at the moment quite busy in solving other issues of the board.

Franchises also have reservations over the payment of annual 16% sales tax and 10% withholding tax to the Punjab Government.

“Franchises also have reservations for paying taxes to the Punjab Government because, according to them, they are not registered in Punjab so why should they be paying the taxes here,” source said.

The source further said: “The board has asked franchises to deposit the bank guarantee as for now. The board will try to get exemption from taxes from the provincial government and if the relief was given, the board will return cheques to the franchises.”

When the PCB spokesperson was approached on this matter, he said: “Two to three franchises have deposited their bank guarantee and rest of the other will soon follow it. This is not a big issue.”