Huawei's offices searched by taxmen in Delhi, Gurugram, Bengaluru

The Income Tax department has carried out searches in Huawei Delhi, Gurugram and Bengaluru offices, media reports said.

This move was part of a tax evasion investigation, official sources said. Some records have been seized too, they added.

This follows similar search operations in the premises of ZTE, a Chinese tech company, a few months ago.


During the search, taxmen reportedly took a look at various company documents related to financial dealings. The company's senior India management was put through questioning, ToI said citing sources.

Reacting to the search operation, Huawei said its operations in India were fully compliant with local laws, and that it would fully cooperate with the tax authorities. It said it would go to relevant government departments for more information.

India has kept Huawei out of trials for 5G services. However, telcos are permitted to source telecom gear from Huawei and ZTE under their old agreements.

According to government officials, the raid at ZTE revealed a number of infringements, including "massive tax evasion, bogus expenses worth hundreds of crores, illegal share purchases and currency exchange and accounting discrepancies."

It may be mentioned here that Chinese-origin handset companies Oppo and Xiaomi have also been under the scanner for some time in India.

It is also looking at concealment of income and other doubtful financial transactions conducted by the gamut of Chinese companies operating in the telecom and electronics space.

The taxmen's new move comes amid an increasingly tough posture being pursued against Chinese companies by the Indian government.

Earlier this week, the govt had brought fresh action against 54 Chinese apps, citing a threat to the country's security. It takes the total number of Chinese apps that have faced Indian action to more than 300.