Editor's Pick: ED initiates FEMA probe into BBC’s alleged violations

In a new development nearly two months after the Income Tax Department surveyed the Mumbai and Delhi offices of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) India, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated an inquiry into the company under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) for suspected violations. It is learnt that the agency has also asked some BBC India officials to submit the documents which it has to scrutinise as part of the proceedings. One official appeared before the investigators on Thursday. In February, the IT department had allegedly uncovered multiple irregularities at the BBC office premises in Delhi and Mumbai, including non-payment of tax on certain remittances that were not disclosed to the authorities as income in India, and that the income/profits shown by various group entities were not commensurate with the scale of operations in India. The survey’s officials had said they were investigating charges related to “transfer pricing” and “diversion of profits”. However, it is important to point out that the Department’s action earlier this year had come just weeks after the release of the two-part documentary, India: the Modi Question, related to the 2002 Gujarat riots and the situation of minorities in India. The fact that BBC journalists were also subjected to questioning in what is essentially an accounting/financial survey, raised questions about intimidation and retaliation on those asking questions of the state. Notably, not too long before the surveys, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry had issued broad orders to online media platforms to disable links to the first part of the documentary by invoking emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021 and Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000, and later blocking tweets with links to it. As this editorial in The Hindu pointed out in February, considering the surveys on news organisations in the recent past, it was difficult not to interpret the BBC surveys as an attempt to produce a chilling effect on Britain’s well-regarded public broadcaster and also media institutions willing to hold the current regime to account for past actions. It also did not augur well India’s claim as a developing nation and a growing economy in a globalised world, that it is a flourishing democracy with constitutionally guaranteed institutional freedoms and separation of powers. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor’s Pick and more. Click here. The Hindu’s Editorials Unity in diversity: On the Opposition attempt to have an alliance for 2024 Neutral, not passive: On India’s stand on the Russia-Ukraine conflict The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz What is the flagship dairy brand of the Karnataka Milk Federation called? Amul Nandini Heritage Vijaya To know the answer and play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 14 April 2023 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( ED initiates FEMA probe into BBC’s alleged violations In a new development nearly two months after [the Income Tax Department surveyed]( the Mumbai and Delhi offices of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) India, [the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated an inquiry]( into the company under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) for suspected violations. It is learnt that the agency has also asked some BBC India officials to submit the documents which it has to scrutinise as part of the proceedings. One official appeared before the investigators on Thursday. In February, the IT department had allegedly uncovered multiple irregularities at the BBC office premises in Delhi and Mumbai, including non-payment of tax on certain remittances that were not disclosed to the authorities as income in India, and that the income/profits shown by various group entities were not commensurate with the scale of operations in India. The survey’s officials had said they were investigating charges related to “transfer pricing” and “diversion of profits”. However, it is important to point out that the Department’s action earlier this year had come just weeks after the release of the two-part documentary, India: the Modi Question, related to the 2002 Gujarat riots and the situation of minorities in India. The fact that BBC journalists were also subjected to questioning in what is essentially an accounting/financial survey, raised questions about intimidation and retaliation on those asking questions of the state. Notably, not too long before the surveys, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry had issued broad orders to online media platforms to disable links to the first part of the documentary by invoking emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021 and Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000, and later blocking tweets with links to it. As this [editorial]( in The Hindu pointed out in February, considering the surveys on news organisations in the recent past, it was difficult not to interpret the BBC surveys as an attempt to produce a chilling effect on Britain’s well-regarded public broadcaster and also media institutions willing to hold the current regime to account for past actions. It also did not augur well India’s claim as a developing nation and a growing economy in a globalised world, that it is a flourishing democracy with constitutionally guaranteed institutional freedoms and separation of powers. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor’s Pick and more. [Click here.]( The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Unity in diversity: On the Opposition attempt to have an alliance for 2024Â]( [Arrow][Neutral, not passive: On India’s stand on the Russia-Ukraine conflictÂ]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz What is the flagship dairy brand of the Karnataka Milk Federation called? - Amul - Nandini - Heritage - Vijaya To know the answer and play the full quiz, click [here.]( [Sign up for free]( Today's Best Reads [[Northeast’s first AIIMS in Guwahati launched; PM Modi dedicates 3 new medical colleges in Assam] Northeast’s first AIIMS in Guwahati launched; PM Modi dedicates 3 new medical colleges in Assam]( [[G-20 Finance Ministers discuss debt distress, Ukraine and other challenges in Washington] G-20 Finance Ministers discuss debt distress, Ukraine and other challenges in Washington]( [[‘Mrs. Undercover’ movie review: Radhika Apte’s spy movie is too schematic] ‘Mrs. Undercover’ movie review: Radhika Apte’s spy movie is too schematic]( [[Doordarshan to broadcast two-part documentary on cultural achievements of Modi government] Doordarshan to broadcast two-part documentary on cultural achievements of Modi government]( Copyright @ 2023, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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