- BBC to pay Rs 40 crore to make up for their tax evasion in India-Reports.
- The broadcaster has reportedly admitted that they evaded taxes in India from 2016-22.
- In an email to the department, BBC has apparently confessed to underreporting of the detected income, which is as good as “tax evasion” and attracts recovery as well as penalty.
- In February 2023, the BBC offices were surveyed by tax authorities for 3 days. After the survey, the Finance Ministry issued a statement explaining the depth of tax fraud committed by the BBC.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has landed in a soup over alleged tax evasion and violations of foreign exchange rules in India. Tax authorities claimed they have uncovered irregularities in the BBC’s accounting books in India, now The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has reportedly admitted that they evaded taxes in India and are now committing to pay Rs 40 crores in tax arrears. According to a report, the BBC has agreed to cough up Rs 40 crore to make up for their tax evasion over a period of almost 6 years – from 2016 to 2022.
It must be noted that in February 2023, the BBC offices were surveyed by tax authorities for 3 days. After the survey, the Finance Ministry issued a statement explaining the depth of tax fraud committed by the BBC.
The statement said that the income/profits shown by various group entities under BBC India do not match their scale of operations in India, as the quantity of content in India is substantial. In the raid by the Income tax department, which has been described as a survey, several pieces of evidence were found that show 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 Income-Tax Department’s action against British Broadcasting Company (BBC) for tax evasion was based on definite material evidence, which the broadcaster acknowledges informally, but it is yet to follow the formal procedure for the same, two officials aware of the development said requesting anonymity.
In an email to the department, BBC has apparently confessed to underreporting of the detected income, which is as good as “tax evasion” and attracts recovery as well as penalty. BBC must take the formal route to comply by filing revised returns and paying all dues, penalty, and interests, which runs in several crores, one of the officials cited above said.
According to a senior official, the UK government-funded broadcaster sent an email to CBDT confessing that it had underreported some ₹40 crores of income in its tax returns. The BBC needs to file a revised return for it to be taken seriously,” said the senior CBDT official. “BBC must act as per the stated procedure or face the law. The Department will continue to take action against it until the matter is taken to the logical conclusion,” the other official said.
Initially, BBC tried to create an impression that the Income-Tax Department’s action was a vendetta by the government after the London-based broadcaster aired a controversial documentary on the Gujarat riots. “Now, they informally accept they were involved in deliberate tax evasion and the action was against their unscrupulous behavior,” he said.
(With Inputs from agencies)
