Two think-tanks face tax ‘survey’

The Income Tax (I-T) Department conducted “surveys” at the premises of two think tanks and a charity organisation on Wednesday on the grounds of suspected irregularities related to financial transactions.

The “surveyed” organisations include the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) and Oxfam India in Delhi and the Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation (IPSMF) in Bengaluru. The agency did not clarify further on the reasons for surveys.

An agency official highlighted the difference between a “search” and a “survey”, and said that the latter was limited in its scope -- the agency visits the commercial premises usually during the office hours, and could only seize transaction records for scrutiny, and seek clarifications from the persons concerned.

CPR describes itself as a “non-profit, non-partisan, independent institution dedicated to conducting research that contributes to high quality scholarship, better policies, and a more robust public discourse about the issues that impact life in India”. Oxfam is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. Its India unit mostly works on projects concerned with food, clothing, shelter, and medicine. IPSMF is a public charitable trust that provides financial assistance through grants to independent media organisations “distributing public interest information”. The grantees include The Wire, The Print, The Caravan, The News Minute, Alt News, The Ken, and Live Law.

This is not the first time that a government agency has raised concerns related to the finances of think tanks and international organisations. In September 2020, Amnesty International halted its operations in India following what it called an “incessant witch-hunt” by government agencies. The government responded to the allegations by saying that it had a long list of charges pertaining to the funding of the group and its interference in India’s internal affairs, dismissing its claims of conducting humanitarian work as “glossy statements”. In October 2018, the Enforcement Directorate – another government agency – had stopped operations of Greenpeace India Society’s 12 accounts with different banks and three current accounts of a private company pending a probe into suspected foreign exchange rule violations.

On Thursday morning, Digipub News India Foundation released a statement condemning the searches at CPR, Oxfam India, and IPSMF. “Without any clarity on allegations or evidence, Income Tax teams are being used to intimidate and harass organisations involved in public service journalism,” the statement said. The Digipub collective was formed by Indian digital media organisations, and IPSMF grantees such as The News Minute, Alt News, The Wire, and The Ken are its members.

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