New Delhi: British Foreign Minister James Cleverly raised the issue of last month’s Income Tax Department survey conducted by the BBC in its Delhi and Mumbai offices during bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, the minister said in an interview.
According to the reports, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has strongly put India’s stand. According to sources, Jaishankar told the UK Foreign Secretary that all entities operating in India should abide by the law of the land.
Last month, from February 14 to February 16, the Income Tax Department conducted a survey in the BBC offices. After about 60 hours of survey, the IT Department issued a statement saying that irregularities were found in the BBC’s tax payments.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had said that the BBC’s earnings and profits shown by its various entities were not in line with the scale of operations in India.
Several discrepancies were found regarding the transfer pricing documentation.
At the same time, the BBC said that it would continue to cooperate with the authorities and journalism would continue without fear or bias.
The survey was conducted amid a controversy over a documentary released by the BBC’s London headquarters on the 2002 Gujarat riots. The BBC has made a documentary titled ‘India: The Modi Question’, which has been banned from airing in India by the Indian government.
Two factions were seen in the country in support of and against this documentary. There was also a lot of political rhetoric on the matter.