The Income Tax (I-T) department concluded its survey at the BBC’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai over alleged non-compliance with tax rules on Thursday night, almost three days after it began scanning financial details and collecting data from office managers.
The survey began around 11:30am on Tuesday and ended around 10pm at the Mumbai office on Thursday. “Mumbai wound up. Teams moved out. Delhi winding up and teams leaving,” one of the officials said at 10.25pm.
In a statement, the broadcaster confirmed that the survey was over and I-T sleuths had left the two premises. “The Income Tax Authorities have left our offices in Delhi and Mumbai. We will continue to cooperate with authorities and hope matters are resolved as soon as possible,” it said.
It added: “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.”
A BBC employee said the survey process did not disrupt the normal editorial functioning of BBC India, with staff being asked to work from home. The survey came less than a month after BBC aired a two-part documentary, Modi: The India Question – on the Gujarat riots of 2002 that happened when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the state’s chief minister – which was slammed by the government as “propaganda”.
Opposition parties have criticised the tax department’s actions, which they described as payback for the documentary. BJP spokespersons have said the tax department is simply following procedure and conducting an investigation, although they have also lashed out at BBC’s coverage of India, terming it “venomous”.
A government official claimed the tax department had enough reasons to undertake a survey, but added that if it was going to issue a statement, it would do so only after the completion of the process and an analysis of their findings. The Central Board of Direct Taxes did not respond to HT’s queries.
Tax officials have gathered some financial data from the BBC offices, the official said, adding that the department could seek the assistance of other agencies if it deemed fit. Staff were asked to stay off social media and report any adverse comments they received on such platforms, BBC told employees, according to an internal memo sent on Thursday that was reviewed by Reuters.
A second official said the I-T officials made copies of several documents and list of electronic devices have been given which have been taken for cloning.