The UK Foreign Secretary raised the BBC tax issue with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday, where he was strongly told that all entities operating in India must fully comply with relevant laws and regulations. IT executives spent three days in the BBC offices conducting a “survey”.
In its statement after the survey, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said it had found discrepancies and the income and profits declared by the units of the organization “were not commensurate with the scale of operations in India”.
UK Foreign Secretary on BBC documentary on PM Modi said, “I haven’t seen the documentary, but I’ve seen reactions in the UK and India. The BBC is an independent organization and separate from the government. I share a strong personal relationship with Dr Jaishankar.” I enjoy it. .UK-India relations are getting stronger by the day.”
The income tax survey comes weeks after the London-headquartered public broadcaster aired a controversial two-part documentary in the UK, ‘India: The Modi Question’, which made references to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Extending its support, the British government staunchly defended the BBC and its editorial independence in parliament, saying: “We stand for the BBC. We fund the BBC. We think the BBC World Service is important. “