The central investigative agency had conducted a three-day long survey operation at the offices of BBC India from 14 February.
BBC office in London. (mikeinlondon)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case against news broadcaster BBC India for foreign exchange violations, official sources said on Thursday, 13 April.
The federal probe agency has also called for documents and the recording of statements of some company executives under provisions of the FEMA, they said.
The probe is essentially looking at purported foreign direct investment (FDI) violations by the company, they said.
The central investigative agency had conducted a three-day long survey operation at the offices of BBC India from 14 February that was criticised as a bid to muzzle the media by journalists, freedom of speech activists and Opposition political parties.
After the survey, the Union Ministry of Finance released an official statement on 17 February, stating that the income and profits shown by various BBC-group entities were not commensurate with the scale of their operations in India.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued a statement without naming the media organisation and said that Income Tax Department (I-T) teams unearthed crucial pieces of evidence by way of statements of employees, digital proof and documents.
“During the course of the survey, the Department gathered several evidences pertaining to the operation of the organisation which indicate that tax has not been paid on certain remittances which have not been disclosed as income in India by the foreign entities of the group,” said the board in the statement.
According to the statement, several discrepancies and inconsistencies with regard to transfer pricing documentation were found during the survey.
Earlier, the officials had said that the survey was carried out to investigate issues related to international taxation and transfer pricing of BBC subsidiary companies.
On 14 February, the ruling BJP had accused the BBC of “venomous reporting” while the Opposition had questioned the timing of the action that came weeks after the broadcaster aired a two-part documentary tiled India: The Modi Question, on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Meanwhile, the Editors Guild of India expressed concern over the I-T surveys at the offices of BBC India.
Its statement alleged that the survey by the I-T Department was a continuation of the trend of using government agencies to “harass or intimidate” press organisations who are critical of the ruling dispensation at the Centre.
Earlier, the Supreme Court on 10 February, dismissed a plea seeking to impose a complete ban on the BBC in India — because of the media giant airing the documentary India: The Modi Question — saying it was “entirely misconceived”.
On 3 February, the apex court sought responses from the Centre and others on separate petitions challenging its decision to block the documentary from being viewed in India.
The top court had on that day also directed the Central government to produce original records relating to its decision to block the BBC documentary.
On 21 January, the central government issued directions for blocking multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the controversial documentary.
However, screenings of the documentary were held across the country including public spaces, and university campuses.
(With PTI inputs)
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