The build-up to Sunday’s inaugural Indian Grand Prix has been soured by a complicated tax dispute – over both import duties and team and driver earnings – which at one stage saw Martin Whitmarsh, chairman of the Formula One Teams Association, suggest that unless it was sorted out there might not be a race. In the end, organisers The Jaypee Group (JPSI) offered to pay the duty on the freight which teams brought in, a sum which would be largely reimbursed once the event is over. Chandhok, who revealed to Telegraph Sport in an interview this week that JPSI had also “given undertakings to take on whatever tax might be compounded down to the drivers”, said the Indian government needed to cut out the red tape next year. “India needs to come to terms with the fact that they allow all kinds of import in for every other sport,” he said. “Just as a cricket bat or a cricket ball is hardware for Sachin Tendulkar or any visiting cricketer, so this freight is the same for Formula One. “What is the point of loading the organisers by asking them to deposit $40 million or $60m and then refunding it on export, less 2 per cent or 5 per cent administration fees? “That is something we really need our government to understand and address. It needs to let go of the British bureaucracy which was set in. There is a lot of paperwork involved and a huge amount of money to be paid up front.” JPSI has urged the Indian government to adopt a Singapore-style arrangement wherein a ‘custom bonded area’ is declared that enables the teams to fly their equipment in to the country, take it directly to the circuit and then return it via a same channel, thus eliminating the need to pay customs. This is a problem, however, where Formula One racing is classified as a form of entertainment and not as a sport. The local state government in Uttar Pradesh has granted JPSI an exemption from paying any entertainment and luxury taxes, a decision which has been questioned by India’s Supreme Court.