India accuses BBC of tax evasion amid Modi documentary row

theguardian.com:

India’s finance ministry has accused the BBC of tax evasion, saying that it had not fully declared its income and profits from its operations in the country.

Indian tax authorities ended three days of searches of the British broadcaster’s Delhi and Mumbai offices on Thursday night. Opposition political parties and other media organisations have criticised the searches as an attempt to intimidate the media.

Critics of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, have also questioned the timing of the searches, which came weeks after the BBC aired a documentary in the UK that was critical of Modi.

“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 Central Board of Direct Taxes said in a statement.

It said it found “several discrepancies and inconsistencies” and had gathered “crucial evidence” from statements of employees, digital evidence and documents that would be examined more fully later. The statement also accused the BBC of not paying full taxes on the earnings of employees who came from abroad and worked in India for short durations.

The BBC said in a statement that it would “respond appropriately to any direct formal communication received from the Income Tax Department”.

“We are supporting staff – some of whom have faced lengthy questioning or been required to stay overnight – and their welfare is our priority. Our output is back to normal and we remain committed to serving our audiences in India and beyond,” it said.

The Press Trust of India news agency cited unidentified officials as saying on Thursday that investigators collected