IT raids on BBC offices in India; BJP and opposition lock horns

New Delhi: The Income Tax department on Tuesday conducted survey operations for over ten hours at the BBC's offices in Delhi, Mumbai and two other linked locations as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion, officials said.

The action, which sparked a sharp political debate with the ruling BJP accusing the BBC of "venomous reporting" and the opposition questioning the timing of the move, comes weeks after the broadcaster aired a two-part documentary, "India: The Modi Question", on the prime minister and the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The survey is being carried out to investigate issues related to international taxation and transfer pricing of BBC subsidiary companies, officials said. BBC had been served notices in the past but was "defiant and non-compliant" and had significantly diverted its profits, they alleged.

The department is looking at documents related to the business operations of the London-headquartered broadcaster and its Indian arms, they said.

The BBC said it is fully cooperating with tax authorities.

"The Income Tax authorities are currently at the offices in New Delhi and Mumbai and we are fully cooperating. We hope to have this situation resolved as soon as possible," the press office of the BBC said on Twitter.

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said no one is above the law and the Income Tax department will share details about the survey after it is over.

The synchronised surprise action began at 11 am with Income Tax officials reaching the BBC offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Gurugram and one another premises and the operation continued till late evening.

BBC staffers were asked to keep their phones at a particular spot inside the premises and cooperate, officials said. Besides, some computers were seized and mobile phones of some staff members were cloned, officials said.

According to I-T rules, transfer pricing "generally refers to prices of transactions between associated enterprises which may take place under conditions differing from those taking place between independent enterprises. It refers to the value attached to transfers of goods, services and technology between related entities''.

It also refers to the value attached to transfers between unrelated parties which are controlled by a common entity.

As news spread, curious onlookers and media crews gathered outside the BBC office at central Delhi's Kasturba Gandhi Marg. In Mumbai, the office is in the upscale Bandra Kurla Complex.

As part of a survey, the Income Tax department only covers the business premises of a company and does not raid residences and other locations of its promoters or directors.

The Supreme Court last week dismissed a plea seeking the imposition of a complete ban on the BBC in India in the wake of the controversial documentary, terming the petition "entirely misconceived" and "absolutely meritless".

Another set of petitions challenging the government's decision to block the documentary will be heard in April next. The petitions were filed by journalist N Ram, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, and advocates Prashant Bhushan and ML Sharma.

On January 21, the government issued directions to block multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the documentary.

The Editors Guild of India said it was "deeply concerned" about the Income Tax surveys and termed it a continuation of a "trend" of using government agencies to "intimidate and harass" media outlets critical of the ruling establishment.

The Congress termed it as "intimidation tactics"and alleged that the action shows that the Narendra Modi government is scared of criticism.

The BJP, in its reaction, accused the BBC of unleashing "venomous" reporting against India and alleged that its propaganda and the Congress' agenda go together.

BJP's national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia rejected the Congress' criticism and said the government agency should be allowed to do its job. He termed the BBC the "most corrupt" organisation in the world and said the Congress should remember that then prime minister Indira Gandhi had also banned the broadcaster.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur said the Income Tax Department conducts surveys from time to time wherever there are some irregularities.

"When the surveys are over, it issues a press note or holds a press briefing to share information. I believe that when the I-T Department will complete its survey, it will share details with you," Thakur said.

"No one can be above the law of the country," the minister told reporters in Kalyan, Maharashtra, when asked about the Income Tax surveys at the BBC offices in India.

A host of opposition leaders, including those from the Congress, the Left parties, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Shiv Sena, were critical of the action, with a CPI(M) leader taking a dig at the BJP saying the same BBC was the last word on authenticity when the party was in opposition.

"It is clearly the government's credibility that is missing on this. A 2013 tweet and statement by PM Modiji is available where he is comparing the credibility of BBC with that of Doordarshan and saying that citizens of India believe more in the news published and telecast by BBC.

"So it's really strange that the question of 'colonial mindset' was not relevant at that time, and whether Modiji himself reflected some kind of colonial mindset by praising BBC and comparing it to Doordarshan," CPI(M) leader Nilotpal Basu said.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Time and again, there has been an assault on freedom of Press under the Modi government. This is done with brazen & unapologetic vengeance to strangulate remotely critical voices." "No Democracy can survive if institutions are used to attack Opposition and Media. People will resist this," he said in a tweet.

"Here we are demanding JPC on the Adani issue but the government is after the BBC. Vinash Kale Viprit Buddhi," added his colleague Jairam Ramesh, using a Hindi idiom to attack the government.

"Since agencies doing these Valentine Day 'Surveys' how about @IncomeTaxIndia, @SEBI_India & @dir_ed conduct one on govt’s most valued sweetheart Mr. A?"- was Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra's response to the I-T move.

The CPI(M) hit out at the Centre over IT "raids" and questioned if India remains the "mother of democracy".

"First ban BBC documentaries. No JPC/enquiry into Adani exposures. Now IT raids on BBC offices! India: 'Mother of democracy'?" party general secretary Sitaram Yechury said in a tweet.

CPI MP Binoy Viswam described the I-T action as an attempt of a "frightened government" to "strangle" the voice of truth.

In the UK, news of the action in India unfolded early in the morning.

"Everyone's shocked and no one is fooled that today's tax survey, as it's being called, is a retaliation to the recent BBC documentary ‘The Modi Question’," said Dr Mukulika Banerjee, leading author and academic at the London School of Economics (LSE).

"The BBC is an independent public broadcaster so if it puts out a documentary, it is not acting at the behest of the British government," she said.

The South Asia Solidarity Group, a human rights organisation based in the UK, dubbed it a "blatantly vindictive move".

"In the wake of the government's ban on sharing extracts or screening the documentary, this raid makes it clear that the Modi government will attack all those who criticise Narendra Modi, the BJP and those close to them," said Mukti Shah, spokesperson for the group.

Others such as the Global Hindu Federation expressed support for the action.

"As a 'coloniser collaborator', the BBC has been living rent-free in our heads, and no doubt financial irregularities abound in their ongoing occupation of the India media space," said the Federation’s Chair Satish Sharma.