British MP slams broadcaster, US response muted to IT “surveys” at BBC India offices

Even as Indian taxmen continued to conduct “surveys” on the premises of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in New Delhi and Mumbai for the second day today, international reaction has been muted.

UK MP Bob Blackman came out criticising the BBC for its documentary India: The Modi Question saying that the content was “completely exaggerated”. “BBC does not represent views of the British government. The documentary is a hatchet job,” he told News18.

“The Indian economy is performing admirably. UK and India are best of friends. We want India should have a permanent place in the UNSC, Blackman added.

Blackman said that the two part documentary is a result of “poor journalism.” He added that it was “badly researched and completely unjustified.”

The UK government has not come up with any official response on the ongoing surveys on BBC offices though it said it was monitoring the situation.

Reaction from the US has been muted as well. US state department spokesperson Ned Price said he was “not in a position to comment” adding that Washington however will “continue to highlight the importance of freedom of expression’.

“We are aware of the search of the BBC offices in Delhi by Indian tax authorities. I would need to refer you to Indian authorities for the details of this search. Beyond this discrete action, what I’ll say more broadly is the general point that I’ve consistently made in this context, but in a universal context as well,” Price said.

BBC’s earlier controversy

In 2021, BBC was under the spotlight for the unscrupulous manner in which it got late Prince Diana’s interview. Lord Dyson, a former senior judge, who handled an independent inquiry, found that BBC journalist Martin Bashir, used fake documents to not only secure the interview but also lied to the top officials of the broadcaster. Finally last year, BBC even had to issue an “unconditional apology” to the royal family for the way it obtained the interview in 1995.

“It is a matter of great regret that the BBC did not get to the facts in the immediate aftermath of the programme when there were warning signs that the interview might have been obtained improperly,” Tim Davie, BBC’s director-general said.

In India, many questioned the timing of the BBC documentary on PM Modi. “The Supreme Court—the highest court in India has closed the case when the Congress-led UPA was in power.. the riots took place 20 years ago, what is the reason for such a documentary at this point..if you see there are already minor clashes in universities over the screening of the documentary,” an analyst told India Narrative.

“Such documentaries claiming to be 100 per cent true is actually dangerous for India which is home to people of all religions. This further leads to fear among the minorities,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Income Tax department officials said that the “surveys” were different from searches and raids and that these are being conducted for alleged non-compliance with the transfer pricing rules and its vast diversion of profits.

The exercise under which one party transfers goods or services to another party for a price, is called “transfer price”.

Deliberate non compliance with regards to transfer pricing could mean that the parent company or a specific subsidiary has produced insufficient taxable income or excessive loss on a transaction. For instance, profits accruing to the parent can be increased by setting high transfer prices to siphon profits from subsidiaries domiciled in other tax countries which typically have higher taxes.

Also read: IT authorities accuse BBC of diversion of profits, violating transfer pricing rules