Indian officials accuse BBC of tax evasion.

 

New Delhi, India – The Finance Ministry of India has accused the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) of tax evasion. According to a statement released on Friday, the broadcaster has not fully declared its income and profits from its operations in India.

 

Indian tax authorities conducted a three-day search of the BBC’s offices in New Delhi and Mumbai, which concluded on Thursday night. The timing of the search has been questioned by critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as it came just weeks after the BBC aired a documentary critical of Modi in the UK.

 

In a statement, the Central Board of Direct Taxes said that the department had gathered several pieces of evidence pertaining to the operation of the organisation, which indicated that tax had not been paid on certain remittances that had not been disclosed as income in India by the foreign entities of the group.

 

The statement also noted that the tax authorities had found several discrepancies and inconsistencies and had gathered crucial evidence from statements of employees, digital evidence, and documents. This evidence will be examined more fully at a later stage.

 

The BBC has not yet responded to the accusations of tax evasion. The broadcaster has faced criticism in India in recent months, including from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), over its coverage of the farmers’ protests and the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

 

The Investigation into the BBC’s tax affairs is part of a broader crackdown on tax evasion in India. The country has been taking steps to clamp down on tax avoidance and evasion in recent years, and has been cracking down on companies that fail to pay their fair share of taxes.

 

The Investigation into the BBC’s operations in India is likely to continue, and the broadcaster may face penalties if it is found to have evaded taxes.

 

 

 

Following the accusation of tax evasion by India’s Finance Ministry against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the BBC has stated that it will continue to cooperate with Indian authorities and hopes to resolve the matter as soon as possible. There was no immediate comment from the broadcaster.

 

According to unnamed officials cited by the Press Trust of India news agency on Thursday, investigators collected financial data from select BBC staffers and made copies of electronic and paper data from the news organization. The investigation is said to be looking into issues related to international taxation and transfer pricing of BBC subsidiary companies.

 

The search of the BBC offices by Indian tax authorities has sparked criticism from opposition parties and international media watchdogs. Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of India’s main opposition Congress party, described the search as an assault on freedom of the press under the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 

Reporters Without Borders, an international media watchdog, has denounced the government’s actions as attempts to clamp down on independent media. The search of the BBC offices is part of a broader crackdown on tax evasion in India, which has been ramping up its efforts to collect taxes from foreign companies operating in the country

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indian tax authorities have accused the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) of tax evasion in India. The Indian finance ministry accused the BBC of not fully declaring its income and profits from its operations in the country, which led to a three-day search of the broadcaster’s New Delhi and Mumbai offices by Indian tax officials.

 

According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the department gathered “crucial evidence” from statements of employees, digital evidence, and documents, which indicated that tax had not been paid on certain remittances that have not been disclosed as income in India by the foreign entities of the group. The investigation of foreign taxation and transfer pricing of BBC subsidiary firms was done through the search.

 

The BBC has not yet commented on the issue, but it 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 timing of the searches has been criticized by critics of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who have questioned the motive behind the move. The search comes weeks after the BBC aired a documentary in the UK that was critical of Modi.

 

Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of India’s main opposition Congress party, described the search of the BBC offices as an assault on freedom of the press under Modi’s government.