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With the Income Tax Department conducting searches at several premises of Chinese mobile companies across the country, leading smartphone brands Xiaomi and OPPO on Wednesday said they continue to cooperate with the authorities in accordance with the law of the country.
According to sources, the smartphone companies were allegedly flouting rules and norms for tax evasion and were on the radar of several investigative agencies, including the IT department.
A Xiaomi spokesperson said in a statement to IANS that as a responsible company, “we attach paramount importance to ensuring that we comply with all Indian laws”.
Read also: Income Tax dept unearths Rs 100 cr black income after raid on Gujarat group
“As an invested partner in India, we are cooperating fully with the authorities to ensure that they have all the necessary information,” a company spokesperson said.
Oppo said: “We have great respect for and abide by the law of the land.” “We will continue to cooperate fully with the relevant authorities as per the procedure,” the company said.
Earlier, some Chinese firms that were allegedly running mobile loan applications and transportation business were raided by government agencies. Now some more companies have come on his radar.
According to sources, several teams were formed by the IT department to conduct the searches, which began around 9 am on Wednesday and is likely to continue till late night.
Read also: IT department searches in UP, Karnataka; incriminating material seized
Reliable sources had earlier told IANS that regular IT procedures are being done in the case of Xiaomi and there have been no IT raids on its premises or distributors’ locations.
According to an official, basically raids were being conducted on manufacturing units along with some corporate houses.
“Some teams also raided the godowns (warehouses) of Chinese mobile companies. The incriminating documents have been recovered by the authorities,” the source said.
The sources said that the offices of OPPO’s state-distribution partners, including Hyderabad, were raided.
ZTE, a Chinese firm engaged in manufacturing telecom equipment in Gurugram, was on the radar of the IT department.
The firm was also raided in August this year. “We had recorded the statement of their India chief regarding tax evasion. We found irregularities on their part. They were hiding information to evade tax,” the official said.
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