Tax survey continues at BBC office for the second day
New Delhi, February 15: For the second consecutive day the Income Tax department survey operation against the BBC India continues. According to official sources on Wednesday the sleuths understood to be making copies of electronic and paper-based financial data of the organisation.
The IT department started the action on Tuesday at the BBC's Delhi and Mumbai offices along with at least two linked premises as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion against the British broadcaster in India.
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On Tuesday, at around 11:30 a.m. the Tax department officers knocked the door of BBC and they are still present at the offices, sources said. The tax officials are speaking to staffers of the BBC in the finance and some other departments even as other staffers and journalists were allowed to leave on Tuesday night.
Some computer peripherals and mobile phones of the employees of BBC were cloned as part of the operation, said an official.
The recent search operation by IT department has sparked a sharp political debate with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), where it accused the BBC of the reporting of the two documentary. The opposition questioned the timing of this recent move as the two documentary that was aired "India: The Modi Question", on the prime minister and the 2002 Gujarat riots.
It is discovered according to official sources that this survey by the IT department is being carried out to investigate issues related to international taxation. Till now there are no official statement that has been recorded from the Income Tax department on the action, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has said it was cooperating with the authorities.
"The Income Tax Authorities remain at the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai. Many staff have now left the building, but some have been asked to remain and are continuing to cooperate with the ongoing enquiries," a BBC News Press Team said in a official Twitter post at 10:26 pm on Tuesday.
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- With inputs from agencies
