Independent And Public-Spirited Media Foundation (IPSMF) and Centre for Policy Research (CPR) on Friday, September 9, issued statements on Income Tax Department searches conducted on their offices two days ago. Officials of the I-T Department had visited the offices of CPR, Bengaluru-based IPSMF and global NGO Oxfam India in connection with alleged FCRA (Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act) contraventions in funds received by them. In a statement, IPSMF said that the foundation has not received any foreign funds at any stage, and has only funded media entities.
“A team of income tax officials came for a “survey” to the Bengaluru office on Wednesday, and stayed till 4.30 on Friday morning, going through the papers and records of the Foundation and asking questions,” the IPSMF said. The statement went on to say, “The Foundation’s staff were cooperative and answered all questions put to them on a wide range of matters. The officials took statements from three senior staff members. All laptops and mobile phones were taken for cloning data in them and returned last night.”
“All staff other than the CEO, Sunil Rajshekhar, were allowed to go home at various stages in the evening and night of September 7, and asked to return the following morning for further questioning. The CEO slept in the office for a few hours on the intervening night of September 7-8,” the statement added.
“The Foundation believes that its affairs are entirely in order. Some media reporting on the IT survey has linked it to foreign funding and the funding of political parties. We wish to make it clear that the Foundation has received no foreign funds at any stage, and has funded only media entities. The Foundation believes in its mission of supporting independent and public-spirited media, and intends to continue its work,” the IPSMF said.
Centre for Policy Research also issued a statement saying the I-T officials stayed in their office for two days and the team extended full cooperation to the department during the survey. “As one of 24 research institutes of the Indian Council of Social Sciences Research network, CPR has all requisite approvals and sanctions, and is authorised by the government as a recipient under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act,” President and Chief Executive of CPR Yamini Aiyar said in a statement.
“We hold ourselves to the highest standards of compliance and are confident that we have done nothing wrong. We are committed to working with the authorities to address any questions they might have. We remain committed to our mission to provide rigorous research to policy making in India,” the statement added.
Oxfam India also issued a statement regarding the “tax survey”, saying, “The Income Tax survey team took away hundreds of pages of data pertaining to finances and programs of Oxfam India. They also took all the data by cloning the Oxfam India server and the private mobile phones of the Senior leadership team and the Finance lead. While the team conducting the survey was polite and professional; the process of a survey with such sweeping powers and broad ambit resulted in disappointing Oxfam India, an organisation that has been law-abiding and community centric.”
“Oxfam India is compliant with Indian laws and has filed all its statutory compliances, including Income tax and Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) returns, in a timely manner since its inception. This Income Tax survey was undertaken without giving a reason. Oxfam India has co-operated with the Income Tax department during this survey and is committed to doing so in the future. In January 2022 we also had a detailed week-long audit of the FCRA accounts by the auditors appointed by the FCRA division,” the statement said.
“In times of growing inequality and greater need for action on poverty eradication, Oxfam India has been and will continue to work in public interest. We are guided by the principle of creating lasting solutions to address the injustice of poverty, to leave no one behind, and to end discrimination and create a free and just society. Oxfam India believes this is our constitutional duty as an organisation, irrespective of obstacles and hurdles in the path,” it said.
The I-T department had visited the premises of these organisations around noon on September 7 and inspected the book of accounts and financial transactions as part of the probe related to alleged contravention of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), sources had told PTI. The office staff and main directors and office bearers were questioned too, the sources said. The Congress had slammed the Union government over the searches, calling it a deliberate move to exterminate all independent media and voices.
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