The Income Tax Department on Wednesday conducted surveys on two think tanks and a charity organisation on suspicion of irregularities related to financial transactions.
In Delhi, the department carried out the operation at the offices of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) in Chanakyapuri and Oxfam India in Okhla Industrial Estate. The premises of Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation (IPSMF) was also surveyed in Bengaluru, according to an official. The agency did not clarify the reasons for the surveys.
Highlighting the difference between a “search” and a “survey”, another agency official said the former was an exhaustive exercise wherein all the locations linked to the assessee could be covered and documents, cash and valuables seized. However, a “survey” operation was limited in its scope as the agency visited the commercial premises usually during the office hours, could only impound the transaction records for scrutiny and seek clarifications from the persons concerned.
