Third day of the BBC income tax survey, “on-the-ground teams to determine time frame”: Report

The Income Tax department’s survey at the BBC office here continued for the third day in a row on Thursday, as officials gathered financial data from select staffers and made copies of the news organization’s electronic and paper data.

The operation, which began around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) offices in Delhi and Mumbai, has now lasted more than 45 hours, according to officials.

According to PTI, the survey is still ongoing.

The exercise was expected to last for a while longer, according to authorities, who stated that the “exact time frame to call the operation closed rests entirely on the teams on the ground.”

According to officials, the survey is being conducted to investigate issues concerning international taxation and transfer pricing of BBC subsidiary companies.

According to tax officials, the survey teams are looking for information on financial transactions, company structure, and other details about the news company, and they are copying data from electronic devices as part of their task of gathering evidence.

The I-T department’s action against the public broadcaster with its headquarters in London has been condemned by opposition parties as a “political vendetta.”

The ruling BJP accused the BBC of “venomous reporting” on Tuesday, while the opposition questioned the timing of the action, which came weeks after the broadcaster aired a two-part documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots.

While the Income Tax Department has not issued an official statement regarding the action, the BBC has stated that it is cooperating with the authorities.

According to a BBC employee in Delhi, they were broadcasting their news as usual.

In response to the contentious documentary, the Supreme Court last week rejected a petition calling for a total ban on the BBC in India, labeling it “entirely misconceived” and “completely meritless.”

Another round of petitions challenging the government’s decision to restrict access to the documentary on social media platforms will be heard in April.

On January 21, the government issued an order to block a number of YouTube videos and Twitter posts that contained links to the documentary.