THE Indian Government has accused the BBC of tax evasion in the country, claiming it had failed to declare its income and profits properly.
Indian tax authorities ended three days of searches of the British broadcaster’s New Delhi and Mumbai offices on Thursday night.
Opposition political parties and other media organisations have criticised the searches as an attempt to intimidate the media.
Critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have questioned the timing of the searches, which came weeks after the BBC aired a documentary in the UK that was critical of Modi.
The BBC said it was cooperating with Indian authorities and it was supporting staff who had faced "lengthy questioning" from investigators.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: "The Income Tax Authorities have left our offices in Delhi and Mumbai. We will continue to cooperate with the authorities and hope matters are resolved as soon as possible.
“We are supporting staff – some of whom have faced lengthy questioning or been required to stay overnight – and their welfare is our priority. Our output is back to normal and we remain committed to serving our audiences in India and beyond.
“The BBC is a trusted, independent media organisation and we stand by our colleagues and journalists who will continue to report without fear or favour.”
“The department gathered several evidences pertaining to the operation of the organisation which indicate that tax has not been paid on certain remittances which have not been disclosed as income in India by the foreign entities of the group,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes said in a statement.
READ MORE: Fiona Bruce asks Question Time audience in England if they support independence
It said they found “several discrepancies and inconsistencies” and had gathered “crucial evidence” from statements of employees, digital evidence and documents which would be examined more fully later.
The BBC was approached for comment.
The broadcaster said on Thursday that it would continue to cooperate with Indian authorities and hoped that the matter could be resolved as soon as possible.
The Press Trust of India news agency cited unnamed officials as saying on that investigators collected financial data from select BBC staffers and made copies of electronic and paper data from the news organisation.
It said the investigation was being carried out to investigate issues related to international taxation and transfer pricing of BBC subsidiary companies.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel