Opposition red-faced after BBC India reportedly admits under-reporting its income

According to income tax officials, the BBC would have to file a revised tax return or face legal action. BBC India would have to clear the dues and pay penalty, which could run into several crores.

Opposition red-faced after BBC admits under reporting its income

Vipin Vijayan

First Published Jun 6, 2023, 1:33 PM IST | Last Updated Jun 6, 2023, 1:34 PM IST

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has reportedly admitted to underreporting its income by Rs 40 crore in an email sent to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), multiple media reports claimed.

The admission has come as a shot in the arm for the government which had been slammed by the Opposition when the income tax officials had conducted search operations at the BBC India's offices. Multiple Opposition leaders had termed it as a brzen attack on freedom of the Press and as an act of vendetta against the BBC for airing the documentary that spoke of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's role as chief minister when the 2002 Gujarat Riots broke out.

Media reports citing income tax department officials claimed that there was a deliberate attempt made by BBC India to project the IT department's actions as part of a vendetta.

According to income tax officials, the BBC would have to file a revised tax return or face legal action. BBC India would have to clear the dues and pay penalty, which could run into several crores.

To recall, officials from the income tax department had searched the BBC India offices in Delhi and Mumbai in February 2023. The searches came weeks after the BBC aired a two-part documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots and India.

Income tax officials had then said that profits and income shown were 'not commensurate with the scale of operations in the country.

The Congress had then slammed the searches at the BBC's offices and termed as a sign of 'authoritarianism and dictatorship' of the Narendra Modi government. Parties like the Samajwadi Party had termed the searches as the declaration of 'ideological emergency'.

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