Tendulkar drives into row

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10+dulkar drives into a row>>>>>

Indian cricket hero Sachin Tendulkar has driven into controversy after import duty he was supposed to pay on a luxury Ferrari was waived by the government.

The millionaire cricketer asked to be exempt from paying $245,000 (£153,000) in import duty and the federal government agreed to the concession.

The Ferrari 360 Modena was given to the batsman after he surpassed Australian legend Don Bradman’s tally of 29 Test centuries last year.

The car, presented to Tendulkar by racing king Michael Schumacher in England a year ago, arrived in Bombay last Friday.

The decision to write off 120% duty normally levied on all foreign-made cars generated heated debate and dented Tendulkar’s demi-god status in cricket-crazy India.

“Sachin has earned enough for five generations, he needs no financial considerations,” said Pramod Navalkar, a leader of the right-wing Shiv Sena party in Tendulkar’s home city of Bombay.

Sachin can afford to pay and he should have, said Indian Express reader Vijay Kalantri

A random survey done by the Indian Express newspaper drew scathing response.

“They do this for Sachin and then spend hours checking the baggage of hockey players who have also brought laurels to the country,” said reader Vijay Kalantri.

“Would hockey star Dhanraj Pillay :hehe: have got the same treatment? Sachin can afford to pay and he should have.”

Another letter said: “The duty would have gone a long way in alleviating suffering of poor farmers who sweat in the fields to make our country self-sufficient in food.”

But not everyone minded the special treatment meted out to the cricketer.

“Sachin has brought name and fame to India, we must accept that contribution by such gestures,” said Vilasrao Deskmukh, former chief minister of Maharashtra state.

Tendulkar, who was preparing for the Indian team’s physical training camp starting in Bangalore later this week, declined to comment on the row.

The 30-year-old is India’s richest sportsman with multi-million dollar endorsements for a range of products that include cars, soft drinks, credit cards and motor cycles.

Tendulkar has scored 8,811 runs in 105 Tests with 31 centuries.

Only compatriot Sunil Gavaskar (34) and Australia’s Steve Waugh (32) have scored more hundreds.

He is also the most successful batsman in the history of limited-overs cricket with 12,219 runs from 314 games with 34 centuries.

gr8 guy and a even better cricketer but come on man, given how much dosh he has i’m sure he could’ve easly paid of the import tax, wat a cheapo!!! :nono1:

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He never paid for the car in the first place. Technically he may have a case there too.

What the heck is he gonna do with a $200k Ferrari in Mumbai? I don't think that city is really suitable for low-riding super-sports cars. Aisa na ho, taiz driving karr ke accident karr baithay.

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No one should be above the law. If this was a personal gift, he should (or whoever is giving it) should pay the duties and taxes.

I am confident Sachin will prove the great person he is.

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Agree with Faisal, where the heck in India would he find a place to drive his Ferrari.

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....

Off course on the roads of Mumbai and Pune..There are some pretty good roads where you cand drive off these cars...It off course isn't like how they show in the movies..Most of the rich and well do to ppl do drive low rise luxury cars.

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Well, as long as Tendu doesn't try to drive like Schumaker on the streets of Mumbai, its all fine and good. Waisay mujhay tau kissi dushman ki saazish lagti hai. Jaan say jayay aur jaan chotay. Chakay, chokay maar maar ke naak mei damm karr daita hai. In a nice kinda way, ofcourse. :)

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Well I think he didnt do anything worng. He made a simple request to waive the tax. If it wasnt acceptalbe the governement could have refused it. So if anyone did anything wrong it would be the government not Sachin. * Woh hathora ley kay sir pay karha tu nahin ho gaya tha ka mujhey tax nahi dena. *

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Sachin is A don.....
The day anyone gives one of our Pakistani cricketers such a gift will be the day Javed Miandad becmoes captain again !

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he shd pay the duty on it like ev.one else does... its simple

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by akpower: *
he shd pay the duty on it like ev.one else does... its simple
[/QUOTE]

true.

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maybe he should ask Schumi to pay the tax as well :D

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**Fiat agrees to pay duty on Sachin’s Ferrari **

Wisden CricInfo staff - August 14, 2003

Fiat has volunteered to pay the import duty on Sachin Tendulkar’s controversial new Ferrari. The red Ferrari-360 Modena was gifted to Tendulkar last year on occasion of his scoring his 29th Test hundred – drawing level with Don Bradman. Tendulkar had applied for an import duty exemption on the car, which was duly granted by the government. This generated enormous controversy in India, with the Delhi High Court stepping in to question the duty waiver.

Fiat, who gained tremendous marketshare from Tendulkar’s endorsement of their `Palio’ brand, have released a statement saying that they have taken the burden of paying the import duty upon themselves. The statement stated: “Fiat India [will] pay the import duty for Sachin’s Ferrari, as the gift was meant to felicitate and honour him for his achievement. The Ferrari Modena was presented to Sachin by Fiat for equalling Sir Donald Bradman’s record of scoring 29 Test centuries. Fiat believes that this gesture on its part, of paying the import duty, is in keeping with the spirit in which the gift was given.”

The statement reaffirmed Fiat’s relationship with Tendulkar, saying, “In Sachin, Fiat found the perfect brand champion for the company in India. He is dynamic, full of life, young, energetic, dependable, a winner and above all, committed to sporting excellence. This fits perfectly with our product profile and compliments our endeavour to present the new face of Fiat India to our customers.”

While the move will generate plenty of positive publicity for Fiat in India, the fact remains that they should have done exactly this in the first place: brought the Ferrari into India by paying the import duty in question, and only then gifted it to Tendulkar. It would be unfair of them to give Tendulkar a gift abroad on which he would have to pay a duty of 120%; it was equally unjust on the celebrity-struck government’s part to waive the import duty due on the car, thus indicating that Tendulkar was above the law. Fiat have now done exactly what they should have in the first place, bringing to an end a controversy that was damaging to all concerned.

**© Wisden CricInfo Ltd
**

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He shd have paid the duty on the car. Once it was gifted to him, it officially became "his car". if he wasnt ready to pay the tax on it he shdn't hv accepted the gift in the 1st place. but he wilfully accepted it, hoping that someone else would be kind enough to pay the tax (fiat in this case) or that the gov. would waive it off. When alls said n done, one thing is for sure, his demi-god image is broken, and rightly so...

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Sachin's such a dumbass.
Why didn't he just pay the duty himself(like the $200k+ dollaras are gonna make a difference to his bank balance) instead of just sitting around and turning it into one big controversy.