An income Tax Department survey on BBC has revealed that despite substantial consumption of content in various Indian languages, the income and profits shown by various group entities are not commensurate with the scale of operations in India.
Earlier, the department had carried out survey operations on the premises of BBC in Delhi and Mumbai. During the course of the survey, the Department gathered several pieces of evidence pertaining to the operation of the organization which indicate that tax has not been paid on certain remittances. It said, tax has not been disclosed as income in India by the foreign entities of the group. The survey also revealed that services of seconded employees have been utilised for which reimbursement has been made by the Indian entity to the foreign entity concerned. Such remittance was also subject to withholding tax which has not been done. Further, the survey has also thrown up several discrepancies and inconsistencies with regard to Transfer Pricing documentation.
The survey has unearthed crucial evidence by way of statements of employees, digital evidence and documents which will be further examined in due course. It said, the statements of only those employees were recorded whose role was crucial like finance, content development and other production-related functions. The department said, the survey was conducted in a manner to facilitate continued regular media activity.
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