The BBC News said on Tuesday it was fully cooperating with the Income Tax department, which is conducting a survey, at its offices in New Delhi and Mumbai.
“The Income Tax Authorities are currently at the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai and we are fully cooperating,” the British broadcaster said on Twitter. “We hope to have this situation resolved as soon as possible,” it added.
The Income Tax Department is conducting a survey operation at the BBC’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion.
The visit from tax officials comes less than a month after the BBC released a two-part documentary, India: The Modi Question, which looked at the 2002 Gujarat riots, and was dismissed as the Indian government as “propaganda”.
A Central Board of Direct Taxes official confirmed to HT that officials were at the BBC office in New Delhi. “It is a survey and not a raid,” he said.
A second official said that the department was investigating “certain matters related to BBC based on definite inputs of some irregularities”. “Surveys are conducted to ascertain these irregularities. Only after completion of survey, it would be ascertained whether there are any deliberate irregularities or not,” the second official said, asking not to be named.
As news spread, onlookers and media crews were seen outside the BBC office at central Delhi’s Kasturba Gandhi Marg. In Mumbai, the office is in Santa Cruz.
As part of a survey, the I-T Department only covers the business premises of a company and does not raid residences and other locations of its promoters or directors.
