BackI-T dept probing tax structure of BBC post ‘unconvincing response’ to notices
Failure to come up with a convincing reply to past tax notices is the reason the I-T department sleuths have landed up in BBC offices in the two metropolitan cities of India
PremiumThe ‘tax survey’ on the Mumbai and Delhi offices of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) continued for the second day, as Indian government officials told a news channel that the action was not a vindictive move following the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's role in the 2002 Godhra riots.
Failure to come up with a convincing reply to past tax notices is the reason the I-T department sleuths have landed up in BBC offices in the two metropolitan cities of India, Kanchan Gupta, Senior Adviser at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, told Times Now news channel.
According to a Reuters' report, a senior Indian government official has said that the income tax survey, which began on Tuesday, was not vindictive or "done out of a sense of pique".
The report further notes that BBC was served tax notices int he past by the Indian government, however, the broadcasting company failed to produce a convincing reply for the same.
Further, Liliane Landor, the director of the BBC World Service on Wednesday sent a mail to the employees of BBC in India which read, "The Income Tax Department is conducting a survey of the BBC’s tax status and affairs in India. We understand officers from the department may wish to speak to members of staff about the BBC in India"
Meanwhile, UK government officials have reportedly said they are monitoring the situation closely. According to a report by the PTI news agency citing UK government sources, it said, "closely monitoring reports of tax surveys conducted at the offices of the BBC in India".
Further the US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told the media that the US is aware of the survey operation conducted by the I-T department at the BBC office in Delhi but is not in a position to offer its judgment.
The searches or the ‘survey’ at the BBC office comes days after documentary released by BBC, examined the role of then chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, in the Godhra communal riots that saw the death of more than 1000 people, mainly Muslims.
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