ED initiates FEMA investigation against BBC India; calls its staffers for questioning

The Enforcement Directorate has launched proceedings under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema) against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for alleged foreign exchange violations, said people in the know. A case under Fema was registered by the federal agency two weeks ago and six employees, including one of the directors of BBC India, have been questioned so far, sources quoted above added.

The agency has called for relevant documents from the news broadcaster and is essentially probing the alleged foreign direct investment by the company. ED action comes two months after the income-tax department surveyed BBC India's premises.

On February 14, the I-T department conducted survey operations at the London-headquartered broadcaster's offices in Delhi and Mumbai as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion. The survey went on for three days.


The Central Board of Direct Taxes had then said the income and profits shown by various BBC group entities were "not commensurate" with the scale of their operations in India and tax has not been paid on certain remittances by its foreign entities.