Featured

BBC Didn’t Pay Tax On Certain Remittances, Says Income Tax Dept After 3-Day Survey

By
OB Bureau

New Delhi: The income or profit shown by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is not commensurate with the scale of operations in India, according to the Income Tax (I-T) department.

I-T’s finding after its ‘survey’ of BBC’s India offices over the last three days, spanning over 58 hours.

The survey, carried out amid a row over BBC’s recent two-part documentary on Narendra Modi – questioning his role as Gujarat CM during the 2002 Godhra riots – showed that despite substantial consumption of content in various Indian languages (apart from English), the income shown is not in proportion with the operations.

“During the course of the survey, the Department gathered several evidences pertaining to the operation of the organisation which indicate that tax has not been paid on certain remittances which have not been disclosed as income in India by the foreign entities of the group,” the I-T department said.

The three-day survey, during which I-T officials stayed overnight at BBC’s Delhi and Mumbai offices to question its employees, revealed that services of seconded employees have been utilised for which reimbursement has been made by the Indian entity to the foreign entity concerned.

“Such remittance was also liable to be subject to withholding tax which has not been done,” I-T stated.

“Further, the survey has also thrown up several discrepancies and inconsistencies with regard to Transfer Pricing documentation. Such discrepancies relate to level of relevant Function, Asset and Risk (FAR) analysis, incorrect use of comparables which are applicable to determine the correct Arms Length Price (ALP) and inadequate revenue apportionment, among others,” I-T said.

Laptops and mobile phones of some employees were checked during the survey, with BBC asking its staff not to make any survey-related comment on social media or delete anything from their phones.

Opposition leaders have been questioning the Central government’s sudden move to conduct a survey of BBC’s India offices.

The Congress even described it as an ‘undeclared emergency’.

OB Bureau

Recent Posts

INS Kuthar Visits Odisha’s Gopalpur Port To Promote Awareness On Coastal Security

Berhampur: Indian Navy ship INS Kuthar docked in Gopalpur port in Odisha's Ganjam district with…

November 24, 2024

Attack On Dharmasala MLA In Odisha: BJD, BJP Trade Charges Over Police Action

Jajpur: Ruling BJP and Opposition BJD were engaged in trading charges against each other on…

November 24, 2024

After Jaiswal-Kohli-Bumrah Heroics, Can India Beat Australia By Record Margin In 1st Test?

Perth: It was the perfect day of Test cricket for Team India. The visiting team…

November 24, 2024

Youth Beats Old Mother To Death In Odisha’s Angul

Angul: A youth allegedly beat his old mother to death following an argument over a…

November 24, 2024

Virat Kohli Thanks Anushka After Breaking Century Drought [Watch]; Check His Feats

Perth: He hadn’t scored a Test century for 16 months. His previous 15 Test knocks…

November 24, 2024

BJD’s Minority Cell Stages Protest Against Waqf Bill In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: The members of BJD's minority cell staged a demonstration in front of Raj Bhavan…

November 24, 2024

System Over Bay Of Bengal To Trigger Rain In Odisha, Push Up Night Temp By 2-4°C

Bhubaneswar: Dense fog reduced visibility in Odisha's Rourkela while moderate fog engulfed Koraput, Bhawanipatna and…

November 24, 2024

IPL Auction: Rishabh Pant Sold At Record Rs 27 Cr After Shreyas Iyer Fetches Rs 26.75 Cr

Mumbai: Shreyas Iyer may be out of the Indian team currently, but the dashing right-handed…

November 24, 2024