India: A survey operation has been conducted by the Income Tax department officials of India on the premises of BBC in Delhi and Mumbai as part of its investigation to look into suspected tax evasion and its vast diversion of profits.
The survey operation has been conducted by the tax authorities according to the provisions of the Income Tax Act, and it should not be called a search or raid. There should be no confusion in the nature of a search or raid, as the authorities are committed to conducting these kinds of routine surveys.
In the case of the BBC, the tax authorities got reports of persistent non-compliance with the abovementioned rules for years. In the wake of that, they have issued several notices to the BBC. However, the BBC has been continuously defiant and non-compliant and has significantly diverted its profits.
The survey operation was conducted with the aim of investigating the manipulation of prices for unauthorised benefits, including tax advantages. The tax authorities have carried out the survey due to the involvement of BBC’s persistent non-compliance with the norms, making it a repeat offender.
In this case, BBC has been:
- non-compliant under transfer pricing rules;
- suspected to deliberately violating of transfer pricing norms
- suspected of diverting a significant amount of the profits
- have not followed the arm’s length arrangement in the case of allocation of profit
In addition to that, the tax authorities conducted the survey to investigate the violation of the BBC in Transfer Pricing Rules and its diversion of profits.
The officials, while making a statement stated the IT personnel who visited the broadcaster’s premises in Delhi and Mumbai are looking at documents related to the business operations of the company and those related to its Indian arm.
As part of a survey, the Income Tax Department only covers the business premises of a company.
Anglina Byron, developed a deep-seated passion for journalism. Anglina is recognized for her tenacity, strength, and unwavering commitment to delivering honest and reliable news across the Caribbean. She covers general affairs of the region.
