India tax officers conduct ‘survey’ operations at BBC offices

New Delhi/London: Income tax department officials on Tuesday conducted “survey” operations at BBC’s Delhi and Mumbai offices, according to sources.

“The Income Tax Authorities are currently at the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai and we are fully cooperating. We hope to have this situation resolved as soon as possible,” the BBC said on Twitter.

An Income Tax Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that a “credible survey operation was ongoing” and that the department would not be able to share details.

A survey conducted by the Income Tax Department allows officials to collect any information which it deems useful. The officials can retain any books, or documents, inspected by them for some time, said Delhi-based senior advocate Tarun Gulati.

A survey differs from a search and seizure operation, commonly known as a raid, with the latter being more invasive, Gulati said.

Britain’s Foreign Office said it was closely monitoring reports of tax surveys conducted at the BBC’s offices.

One of two sources in the BBC’s New Delhi office told Reuters that tax officials were speaking with the accounts officer and no one was allowed to leave.

Another source at the organisation said the office was allowed to function as usual while the survey was on, but declined to say if officials entered the newsroom or not.

While the tax search was in progress, television news crews set up outside the BBC office near Connaught Place in central Delhi to report developments, as police and private security guards tried to keep order and prevented dozens of journalists from entering the compound.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said Indian institutions worked independently and the tax department was “within the law in looking into tax compliance”.

“India is a vibrant democracy where no one is above the law,” BJP spokesman Gopal Krishna Agarwal said.

The main opposition Congress party condemned the tax department’s action. “... (it) reeks of desperation and shows that the Modi government is scared of criticism,” lawmaker and Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal wrote on Twitter.