Three organisations - the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), the Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation (IPSMF) and Oxfam – issued separate statements of compliance with the Indian law following the recent income-tax surveys in their premises.
I-T surveys were recently conducted over 100 locations in several states, including Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Karnataka.
According to a report published in the news portal ThePrint, while the Tax department has so far not issued any statement regarding the surveys conducted on Wednesday, the three organisations said in separate statements that they were fully compliant with the Indian laws.
As mentioned in the report, IPSMF, which has been supporting independent and public-spirited media, stated that a team of income tax officials visited the IPSMF office in Bengaluru on September 7 and continued the survey till 4.30 am. The I-T officials took statements from three senior staff members and all laptops and mobile phones were taken for data cloning and returned Thursday.
It stated that it had “received no foreign funds at any stage, and funded only media entities”.
“The foundation believes that its affairs are entirely in order. Some media reporting on the IT (income tax) 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,” TN Ninan, chairman of its Board of Trustees, said in the IPSMF statement.
The report quoted sources as saying that the surveys were conducted in connection with alleged violations under the FCRA.
A statement by Delhi-based think tank CPR said it has done “nothing wrong”, and “all requisite approvals and sanctions, and is authorised by the government as a recipient under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act”, while Oxfam India stated it was “it has filed all its statutory compliances, including income tax and FCRA returns, in a timely manner since its inception”.
“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,” the CPR said in the statement issued by its CEO, Yamini Aiyar.
The income tax department visited the CPR office for survey on September 7-8.
“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 policymaking in India,” it said.
