From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Finance Ministry on Friday justified the searches carried out for three days on Delhi and Mumbai offices of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) claiming that its foreign entities did not pay tax on certain remittances that were not disclosed as income in India.
In a statement, it said a survey was carried out at the business premises of the group under section 133A of the Income- tax Act, 1961.
It said the group is engaged in the business of development of content in English, Hindi and various other Indian languages; advertisement sales, market support services, etc.
The survey revealed that despite substantial consumption of content in various Indian languages (apart from English), the income/profits shown by various group entities is not commensurate with the scale of operations in India. During the course of the survey, the Department gathered several evidences pertaining to the operation of the organization which indicate non-payment of tax in India, the statement added.
The income and profits shown by various BBC group entities are not commensurate with the scale of their operations in India, according to an official statement on Friday, by the Central Board of Direct Taxes CBDT), under which the Income Tax Department operates.
It said the I-T teams unearthed crucial evidences by way of statements of employees, digital proof and documents.
According to the statement, several discrepancies and inconsistencies with regard to transfer pricing documentation were found during the survey.
