BBC has reacted to the ongoing ‘survey’ by the Income Tax (I-T) department at their New Delhi and Mumbai offices. “The Income Tax Authorities are currently at the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai and we are fully cooperating,” the international news organisation tweeted earlier this afternoon, adding, “We hope to have this situation resolved as soon as possible.”
Sources have told TNM that the phones of employees present have not been taken away but questioning is underway currently. The survey comes days after the BBC documentary titled ‘India: The Modi Question’ was blocked in India by the Union government.
While the first part of the documentary explores the Gujarat riots of 2002 under Narendra Modi, the second looks at his government’s policies vis-a-vis the minorities since he became the Prime Minister in 2014. Spokespersons of the Union government and BJP had reacted sharply to the BBC documentary.
Soon after the documentary was released, the Union government issued directions to YouTube and Twitter to block videos and posts sharing the link to the documentary. The directions were issued by Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on January 20, using the emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021. The Ministry of External Affairs also called the documentary a “propaganda piece”.
Income Tax department in a note distributed to the media claimed that the survey was in view of BBC’s “deliberate non-compliance with the Transfer Pricing Rules and its vast diversion of profits.” The note also said that such surveys are routinely conducted and are not to be confused with a normal search raid.
“In the case of the BBC, there has been persistent non-compliance with the above-mentioned rules for years. As a result of the same, several notices have been issued to the BBC. However, the BBC has been continuously defiant and non-compliant and has significantly diverted its profits,” alleged the note.
Meanwhile, The Editors Guild of India (EGI) has expressed concern about the I-T surveys being carried out at BBC India. In a statement, EGI said, “This comes soon after the release of two documentaries by the BBC, on the 2002 violence in Gujarat and the current status of minorities in India. The documentaries stirred political waters with the government criticising the BBC for wrong and prejudiced reportage on the Gujarat violence, and attempted to ban online access and viewing of the film in India.”
“This is a trend that undermines constitutional democracy. The Guild demands that great care and sensitivity be shown in such investigations so as to not undermine the rights of journalists and media organisations. Further, the Guild reiterates its earlier demand that the government ensures that such investigations are conducted within the prescribed rules and that they do not denigrate into instruments of harassment to intimidate independent media.”