India continues to register BBC for alleged tax evasion

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian tax authorities raided BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai for a third day on Thursday seeking information about the organization’s business operations amid evasion allegations. tax. Opposition parties and other media criticized the move as an attempt to intimidate the press.

Some workers were questioned overnight, but on Thursday officials confined themselves to company executives and their offices, according to some employees who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to report to media.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s critics have questioned whether the raids coincided with the BBC’s broadcast of a documentary criticizing Modi a few weeks ago in Britain.

Kanchan Gupta, adviser to India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, said there was no connection between the two.

“Whether you are a media outlet or a manufacturer, the purpose of tax laws applies equally to everyone. And if these tax laws are found to be broken, appropriate action is taken in accordance with due process,” Gupta said in an interview with Mirror Now television.

India’s treasury has yet to reveal the reason for the searches at the BBC’s offices since its agents entered on Tuesday.

Britain’s state-funded national broadcaster said on Tuesday it was cooperating fully with the authorities and hoped “to resolve this situation as soon as possible”.

Citing unnamed officials, the Press Trust of India news agency reported on Thursday that investigators collected financial data from some chain employees and made copies of paper and electronic files.

The operation investigates issues relating to international taxation and transfer pricing of BBC affiliates, he added.

The Indian Newscasters Association has criticized tax “inquiries” at BBC headquarters.