The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) offices in New Delhi were the subject of a survey by the Income Tax department, which the United States has said to have knowledge but has refused to comment on.
A representative for the US State Department stated that Washington DC is aware of the income tax authorities’ “search” of the BBC premises in Delhi. In regards to the specifics of the search, he requested that the reporter contact the Indian authorities.
The US supports the value of free press globally, he stressed. According to Price, the US continues to emphasise the importance of religious and political freedom as human rights that support the growth of democracies around the world.
“I couldn’t say. We’re aware of the facts of these searches, but I’m just not in a position to offer a judgement”, he said when asked if the searches go against the spirit of democracy.
As part of their investigation into alleged tax fraud, the Income Tax department conducted survey operations at the BBC offices in Delhi, Mumbai, and two other related locations for more than ten hours on Tuesday.
The survey, according to officials, was conducted to look into difficulties with foreign taxation and transfer pricing of the broadcaster’s subsidiary companies. The officials claimed that despite having received notices in the past, BBC was “defiant and non-compliant.”
The BBC reacted on the income tax survey at its offices. “The Income Tax Authorities are currently at the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai and we are fully cooperating. We hope to have this situation resolved as soon as possible”, the broadcaster tweeted.
Following the BBC’s airing of the documentary “India: The Modi Question,” which recounted what happened during the Gujarat riots of 2002 while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was acting as the state’s chief minister, the tax authorities’ survey operation has sparked a substantial political uproar.
The BBC was criticised by the government, the Bharatiya Janata Party, who called it a “Bhrasht, Bakwas Corporation” (corrupt rubbish corporation). The Congress has referred to the action as a “undeclared emergency” in response to criticism from the opposition.
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