The Reporters Collective (TRC), a digital media outlet that has worked on several groundbreaking investigations, has received orders from the Income Tax Department (I-T) challenging their non-profit status, saying that their journalism does not serve any public purpose.
TNM has learnt that similar orders have been served to at least two other media outlets across the country that operate under a charitable trust and have tax exemptions under the non-profit status. These orders mean that tax exemptions given to a non-profit will be impacted. The orders can, however, be appealed.
Bengaluru-based Kannada website The File, which has also done several important investigations, against all political parties in Karnataka, received a similar order in December 2024 when they sought renewal of their charitable trust status. The order said that the exemptions provided to The File under 12A and 80G of the Income Tax At was cancelled.
The order said that the “activities of the organisation are seen as non-charitable, and of a commercial nature, as it involved printing and publishing news materials, periodicals, and other forms of media/journalism publications and other activities which involve only the professionals from the industry.”
It further said, “Though the Foundation claims that the works and content published are for the benefit of the public and educating in nature, the Foundation has not brought anything on records to establish such a claim.”
The Reporters’ Collective (TRC) is a New Delhi-based organisation, registered as a trust under Indian laws.
“We began as an informal group bootstrapping from our meagre resources. Since July 2021, we have existed as a formal registered non-profit trust funded by citizens. But now, the tax authorities have cancelled our non-profit status, claiming journalism does not serve any public purpose and therefore cannot be carried out as a non-profit exercise in India,” a statement from TRC read.
The Reporters Collective has worked on several investigative pieces, including a story that delved into how the Union government handed over 62% of the new Sainik Schools to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies. They also reported on how the BJP-led Union government put out a spurious expert opinion to remove the health warning on fortified rice. The organisation has also reported extensively on electoral bonds.
“The order cancelling our non-profit status severely impairs our ability to do our work and worsens the conditions for independent, public-purposed journalism in the country,” the statement read, adding that the Collective will be seeking legal remedies to “protect the idea of journalism as a public good and our right to carry out investigative journalism, research, and training free of encumbrances, fear, or threats.”
Founder and Editor of The File, G Mahantesh, said, “The I-T Department looked at our website and decided that we were a commercial venture and our website was drawing revenue, which is completely untrue as we are an ad-free space. We have filed an appeal against this decision.”
This is not the first time the I-T Department has gone after the ecosystem of independent media organisations. In September 2022, I-T officials conducted a ‘survey’ of The Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation’s (IPSFM) balance sheets. IPSFM is a philanthropic organisation that provides financial assistance to independent dozens of digital media organisations across the country.