New Delhi, Feb 22 (IANS) The failure of BBC India to reduce foreign ownership in the company to 26 per cent has invited a penalty of Rs 7.47 crore — Rs 3.44 crore on the company, Rs 1.14 crore each on the three directors and Rs 61 lakh penalty — from the Enforcement Directorate as part of proceedings which, officials on Saturday said, are still “ongoing”.
Sources said the ED’s proceedings against the Indian unit of the global broadcaster, including a daily fine of Rs 5,000 since October 15, 2021, may continue till compliance.
BBC India, meanwhile, is understood to be weighing its options amid allegations that it was being targeted by the official machinery in the country for critical coverage.
Apart from facing ED charges under foreign exchange regulations, the broadcaster is also facing heat from income tax authorities which allege that some remittances related to BBC entities in India had not been taxed correctly.
The Indian tax authorities also raised doubts over BBC’s accounts, claiming that the income and profits reported by the broadcaster’s entities were not commensurate with the scale of their operations in India.
In March 2023, the ED searched BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai for three days and questioned its staff.
Soon after the searches, the BBC, in a statement, said: “We will continue to co-operate with the authorities and hope matters are resolved as soon as possible.”
It said it “will continue to report without fear or favour”.
According to BBC’s website, the broadcaster provides services for India in Hindi, Bengali, Nepali, Tamil, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi and Telugu.
The Delhi Bureau is one of the BBC’s largest news operations outside London and builds on the BBC’s long-term commitment to broadcasting in the subcontinent.
The BBC had faced Indian government action earlier as well. It was expelled for two years over two controversial documentary films in 1970.
After the declaration of a State of Emergency by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, the BBC faced its second expulsion, for five years, from India, according to the information available on BBC’s website.
–IANS
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