Tag: BBC DOCUMENTARY

Trending: Income Tax ‘survey’ operations at BBC offices continues for third day

The Income Tax department’s ‘survey’ at the BBC office here continued for the third straight day on Thursday as officials gathered financial data from select staffers and made copies of electronic and paper data of the news organisation.

The operation that began at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) offices in Delhi and Mumbai around 11:30 am on Tuesday has clocked more than 45 hours now, officials said.

The survey is going on, they told PTI.

Authorities had said on Wednesday that the exercise would continue for some more time, saying the “exact time frame to call the operation closed rests entirely on the teams on the ground”.

The survey is being carried out to investigate issues related to international taxation and transfer pricing of BBC subsidiary companies, officials have said.

The survey teams are seeking answers on financial transactions, the company structure and other details about the news company, and are copying data from electronic gadgets as part of their task of collecting the evidence, tax officials had said.

Opposition parties have denounced the I-T department action against the London-headquartered public broadcaster, terming it “political vendetta”.

Surprise Action: Income tax department is conducting survey action at BBC Office

The Income Tax Department is conducting a “survey” at the British Broadcasting Service’s (BBC) Delhi office. It isn’t clear as of now why the department visited the London-based company. Sources from the department told Zee Media that it isn’t a raid but a survey. They said a team of 60-70 people are part of the ‘survey’ at BBC’s Delhi office.

The Income Tax Department is conducting verification at multiple British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) offices, an agency official said on Tuesday. The exact contour of the survey are unknown yet. More details are awaited.

“There’s income tax raid in office, they’re confiscating all phones,” a BBC journalist was quoted as saying by AFP .

The surprise action comes weeks after the broadcaster airedp a two-part documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots and India. In January 2023, the British broadcaster released a two-part docu-series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, titled, “India: The Modi Question”. The series was not broadcast in India.

The department is looking at documents related to the business operations of the company and those related to its Indian arm, the officials said. As part of a survey, the Income Tax Department only covers the business premises of a company and does not raid residences and other locations of its promoters or directors.

As part of a survey, the Income Tax Department only covers the business premises of a company and does not raid residences and other locations of its promoters or directors.

According to the details, the mobile phones of the employees were seized and they were asked to go home, while those working on the afternoon shift at the BBC’s Delhi office were asked to work from home.

Two people looking after the Urdu services, along with the finance department officials were inside the office premises, they said.

The BBC has two offices in Mumbai – one at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and another one at Khar.

The IT officials were present at the BKC office premises, while the employees at the BBC’s Khar office were asked to go home.