ED begins probe against BBC over ‘FDI law breach’
The officials said that a few executives including a deputy managing editor of the BBC have already been called to the ED office in past two weeks.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating violations of foreign exchange rules by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), government officials familiar with the matter said on Thursday, indicating that the regulatory troubles of the media company, which was surveyed by the Income Tax department in February, are far from over.
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The officials, who asked not to be named, said that a few executives including a deputy managing editor of the BBC have already been called to the ED office in past two weeks to record their statement and the company has been asked to submit certain documents related to its finances. They said the issue pertains to violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and that the investigation is based on the findings of the tax department’s survey.
The survey revealed that income or the profits shown by BBC’s various entities “is not commensurate with the scale of operations in India” and evidence has emerged which indicates “the company has not paid taxes on certain remittances”, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), parent body of IT department, said in a statement in February. CBDT added that the survey also found discrepancies in the transfer pricing documentation of the BBC.
The BBC is yet to respond to an email query from HT.
In February, a BBC spokesperson said the company would continue to cooperate with authorities and hope matters are resolved as soon as possible.
The survey at BBC came a month after the channel aired, outside India, a two-part documentary on the Gujarat riots of 2002, pointing to the role of the state’s then chief minister and current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. To be sure, Modi has been cleared of any wrongdoing by an investigating team monitored by the Supreme Court.
“It makes us wonder about the purpose of this exercise and the agenda behind it. This is a propaganda piece designed to push a particular discredited narrative. The bias, the lack of objectivity, and a continuing colonial mindset is blatantly visible,” the ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in January when asked to comment on the documentary.
With opposition parties protesting the survey as a reaction to the documentary, which the government ordered removed from social media platforms, the government said the tax department was just doing its job. However, a BJP spokesperson lashed out at BBC and its “agenda”.
“BBC is a trusted, independent media organisation and we stand by our colleagues and journalists who will continue to report without fear or favour,” BBC said in February.
On Thursday, the Congress slammed the ED probe against the news broadcaster.
“We know the atmosphere that is being created by the Orwellian sort of state here where the freedom of expression and press has completely been clamped down. It is not new, it has been happening, there are changes in laws but far from that there are threats and intimidation so whoever dares criticise this government is actually thrown in jail,” Congress spokesperson Anshul Avijit said.
FEMA was enacted in 1999 after repealing the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) of 1973. It is a civil law enacted to consolidate and amend the laws relating to facilitate external trade and payments and to promote the orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in India. ED has been given the responsibility to conduct investigation into suspected contraventions of foreign exchange laws and regulations, to adjudicate and impose penalties on those adjudged to have contravened the law.
