Indian Ministry Refuses F1 Exemption
India’s sports ministry has rejected the idea of extending sport-linked customs duty exemptions that would have made it cheaper to import equipment being used for the construction of a F1 race track.
India is bidding to host an F1 Grand Prix in 2011 on a new circuit being built on the outskirts of New Delhi.
However media reports suggested that the Indian Sports Ministry has refused to endorse the F1 race as a sports event, saying it would not have an impact on Indian sport ‘in terms of either participation, broad-basing or promotion of excellence’.
An official from the ministry is quoted as saying the race ‘would have no impact on the development of sports in the country. F1 is not purely sports. It is entertainment and this venture is a commercial initiative’.
The Sports Ministry’s refusal to endorse the duty exemption application from the construction firm building the race track will not affect its bid to bring F1 to India, but might raise the cost.
Samir Gaur, managing director of JPSK Sports, the company seeking to put India on the F1 calendar, said it would go ahead and complete construction of the race track.
The country’s links with the sport are further endorsed through Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya who is a majority shareholder in the Force India F1 team.
