ED slaps Rs 3.44 cr penalty on BBC WS India; fines 3 directors
New Delhi, Feb 21 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate has levied a penalty of more than Rs 3.44 crore on BBC World Service India for alleged contravention of foreign direct investment (FDI) regulations, agency officials said on Friday.
The federal probe agency also fined three of its directors with more than Rs 1.14 crore each as it issued an order against the British broadcaster following adjudication under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
There was no immediate response from the BBC on a query sent by PTI in this regard.
The adjudication proceedings were initiated after a show-cause notice was issued on August 4, 2023, to BBC WS India, its three directors, and the finance head for various "contraventions" under the said law.
The ED launched a FEMA probe against the BBC a few months after the income-tax department conducted a survey operation at the news organisation's office in February 2023.
BBC WS India, which is a 100 per cent FDI company, was engaged in uploading/streaming news and current affairs through digital media but "did not" reduce their FDI to 26 per cent, and kept it at 100 per cent in "gross violation" of the regulations issued by the government of India, sources said.
The press note 4 issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on September 18, 2019, stipulates a 26 per cent FDI cap for digital media under the government approval route, they said.
The total penalty levied on BBC WS India stands at Rs 3,44,48,850, along with a fine of Rs 5,000 for every day after 15.10.2021 till the date of compliance for violation of the provisions of FEMA, 1999, the sources said. Three BBC directors -- Giles Antony Hunt, Indu Shekhar Sinha and Paul Michael Gibbons -- have each been fined Rs 1,14,82,950 for their roles in "overseeing" company operations during the period of contravention, they said.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the administrative body for the I-T department, had said in a statement after the 2023 survey that the income and profits shown by various BBC group entities were "not commensurate" with the scale of their operations in India, and that tax has not been paid on certain remittances by its foreign entities.
The BBC, after the I-T action, had said they will "continue to cooperate with the authorities and hope matters are resolved as soon as possible".
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We received request; will decide soon whether to support TVK: Thirumavalavan
Chennai (PTI): VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan on Thursday said that his party received a request from TVK for support and the high-level committee of his party will decide whether to support the Vijay-led party to form the government.
The TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly and emerged as the single largest party. Vijay will have to resign from one of the two constituencies he has won.
Though the Congress party, which has five MLAs, has extended support to TVK, the actor-politician-led party was still short of as many seats to touch the magic number of 118, the majority mark in the 234-member House.
"We received the request letter from TVK. We are thankful for that. We have not ignored his (Vijay's) request. We have a procedure. Therefore, our party's high-level committee will decide soon. We are going to discuss the merits and demerits of our position," the VCK leader told reporters here.
With regard to the delay in the governor's call to the TVK, which is the single largest party, to form the government, Thirumavalavan requested the governor to invite Vijay to form the government. "It is a constitutional right and people's verdict," he added.
Asserting that the governor cannot say that Vijay should hold 118 MLAs' support now itself to form the government, he said that after taking over power, Vijay has to prove an absolute majority only on the floor of the Assembly.
VIDEO | Chennai: VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan (@thirumaofficial) says, “The Governor has no right to ask Vijay to prove his numbers or absolute majority of 118 before inviting him to form the government. He should first assume charge as Chief Minister, as it is the people’s… pic.twitter.com/sok3faXWBT
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 7, 2026
