I-T report on BBC: Tax Officials have gathered “several evidences” against the Media house
I-T report on BBC: The Income Tax Department releases its official Statement, after three days of the ‘survey’ at BBC’s Delhi and Mumbai Offices, on 17th February. The statement said that the “profits/income reported by ‘various group entities’ are not commensurate with the scale of operations in India.”
The statement released by the Press Bureau Information further stated that the I-Tdepartment had gathered “several pieces of evidence” and was still reviewing employee statements, digital files, and papers. The statement called BBC, “a prominent international Media Company,” without naming it.
The tax department stated that the investigation’s findings “indicate that tax has not been paid on certain remittances which have not been disclosed as income in India by the foreign firms of the group.”
The survey “had also turned up various irregularities and inconsistencies concerning transfer pricing documents.”
Transfer Pricing refers to the procedure used to establish prices for the exchange of goods or services between related businesses or organizations.
The department also charged BBC employees with “dilatory tactics,” or actions intended to delay an inquiry.
Read more- BBC On I-T Radar: 60 hours of ‘survey’, Outrage in Global Media
“The survey revealed that despite substantial consumption of content in various Indian languages (apart from English), the income/profits shown by various group entities is not commensurate with the scale of operations in India,” said I-T officials.
However, the media house stated in a statement, “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.”
Update on India: pic.twitter.com/rghvE6OpfQ
— BBC News Press Team (@BBCNewsPR) February 16, 2023
A BJP spokesperson, Gaurav Bhatia, accused the BBC, calling it the “most corrupt” corporation and said that the survey was legal and that the timing had nothing to do with the documentary’s broadcast.
“If you have been following the law of the country, if you have nothing to hide, why be afraid of an action according to the law,” said Gaurav Bhatia.
A BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s involvement in the riots in Gujarat in 2002 was recently released publicly. The Union government had taken down the documentary from Twitter and YouTube because they claimed it had a “propagandist agenda” ; the timing of the raids has been criticized as an alleged effort to restrict press freedom.
