LONDON: The BBC in London said it was fully complying after Indian tax department authorities surveyed its workplaces in New Delhi and Mumbai to investigate supposed tax irregularities.A BBC spokesperson had confirmed that the income-tax authorities were at the BBC workplaces in New Delhi and Mumbai and that we wish to have this situation resolved as quickly as possible .
Late Tuesday night the BBC added that the I-T authorities remain at the BBC offices .
It added that numerous staff had actually left the building but some have been asked to stay and are continuing to work together with the continuous queries .
The BBC said it was supporting the personnel and continue to want to have this circumstance resolved as quickly as possible .
Our output and journalism continue as normal and we are devoted to serving our audiences in India, it said.The studies came simply weeks after the BBC broadcast in Britain a two-part documentary, India: The Modi Question , on BBC Two on January 17 and 24, which the BBC stated looked at stress between Indian PM Narendra Modi and Indias Muslim minority .
The documentary included claims about Modis role as primary minister in the 2002 post-Godhra riots and also declared to show his struggling relationship as PM with Indias Muslim minority by covering cow lynchings, the nullification of Article 370, as well as the NRC and CAA.Amnesty International India chair Aakar Patel said it was a blatant affront to flexibility of expression and that Indian authorities are plainly attempting to bother and intimidate the BBC .
The overbroad powers of the earnings tax department are consistently being weaponised to silence dissent, he said.The International Federation of Journalists, headquartered in Brussels, released a declaration saying: The search of BBC offices in Mumbai and New Delhi by earnings tax authorities a few weeks after the broadcasting of a documentary in the UK vital of the Indian Prime Minister amounts to intimidation.
We are deeply concerned by these attempts to silence vital reporting and the consequences it may have on independent journalism in the country.
The BBC is a statutory corporation governed by a royal charter.
A royal charter is an instrument of incorporation, approved by the King, which provides independent legal personality on an organisation and specifies its goals, constitution and powers to govern its own affairs.
Royal Charters, given by the sovereign on the guidance of the Privy Council, have a history dating back to the 13th century.
The charter ensures the BBCs independence.An agreement between the secretary of state for culture, media and sport and the BBC sits alongside the charter, which outlines just how much funding the BBC will get.
Funding comes totally from the licence cost that every home that enjoys TV needs to pay.
The BBC World Service gets a grant from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the BBC also has a commercial arm.Ofcom is the external independent regulator of the BBC.
A spokesperson for Ofcom said it did not regulate the BBCs global operations and Ofcom does not investigate grievances about the BBCs domestic output until they have gone through the BBC problems process first.Between January 16 and 29, 2023 the BBC got 992 complaints about India: The Modi Question .
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