VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

India's tax authority said on Friday it found evidence of unpaid taxes and undisclosed income in the records of an "international media company", a day after inspectors concluded a three-day search of BBC offices in Mumbai and New Delhi.

The tax probe came after India reacted angrily to a documentary by the British broadcaster about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership as chief minister of the western state of Gujarat during riots in 2002.

At least 1,000 people were killed in the violence, most of them Muslims. Activists put the toll at more than twice that number.

The government has dismissed the documentary as propaganda and blocked its streaming and sharing on social media. The tax inspection has drawn strong criticism from media bodies in India and abroad.

Without naming the BBC, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in its first official statement since completing the office inspections that its "survey revealed that despite substantial consumption of content in various Indian languages (apart from English), the income/profits shown by various group entities is not commensurate with the scale of operations in India.

"...During the course of the survey, the department gathered several evidences pertaining to the operation of the organisation which indicate that tax has not been paid on certain remittances which have not been disclosed as income in India by the foreign entities of the group," it said.

A government source said the CBDT was referring to the BBC but did not name it as the investigation was ongoing.

There was no response from the BBC to a request for comment on the CBDT statement.

The broadcaster has stood by its reporting for the documentary, "India: The Modi Question". It has said it is "fully co-operating" with the tax authorities during the inspection and also supporting its employees.

It called the situation stressful and disruptive for its staff and added that its journalists in India would continue to report without fear or favour.

The tax officers left the BBC's offices in New Delhi and Mumbai late on Thursday.

The investigation, the CBDT statement said, also threw up "several discrepancies and inconsistencies with regard to Transfer Pricing documentation".

It said it found that "services of seconded employees have been utilised for which reimbursement has been made by the Indian entity to the foreign entity concerned. Such remittance was also liable to be subject to withholding tax which has not been done".

"Even though the department exercised due care to record statements of only key personnel, it was observed that dilatory tactics were employed including in the context of producing documents/agreements sought," the statement said.

"Despite such stance of the group, the survey operation was conducted in a manner so as to facilitate continued regular media/channel activity," it added.

A government official has denied accusations that the tax survey was "vindictive" and said the BBC was served tax notices in the past but had not provided a "convincing response". (Reuters)

North Korea threatened on Friday to take "unprecedentedly constant, strong responses" if South Korea and the United States press ahead with planned military drills, accusing the allies of raising tensions in the region.

In a statement carried by state media KCNA, the North's foreign ministry also said it would consider additional military action if the U.N. Security Council, under the influence of the United States, continues to pressure Pyongyang.

The statement came as South Korea and the United States gear up for annual military exercises as part of efforts to better counter North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats.

The allies will stage tabletop exercises in Washington next week aimed at improving operations of American nuclear assets and hold regular springtime Freedom Shield drills next month in South Korea, Seoul's defence ministry said on Friday. (Reuters)

Jakarta (voinews): US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken reaffirmed the United States’ support for Indonesia’s chairmanship of ASEAN and for Indonesia’s role as country coordinator for U.S.-ASEAN dialogue relations.

Blinken reiterated the support during a telephonic conversation with Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi on Thursday (February 16), the Office of Spokesperson for the US Department of State noted in a statement issued by the US Embassy in Jakarta on Friday.

During the phone call, Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Marsudi discussed Indonesia’s ASEAN priorities for 2023, including ASEAN’s approach to addressing the crisis in Myanmar as well as the subsequent steps for Timor-Leste’s accession to the ASEAN.

Blinken emphasized ASEAN’s role in shaping a free and open Indo-Pacific and highlighted cooperation with ASEAN as a means of achieving prosperity and security.

Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Marsudi also discussed the US-Indonesia Strategic Partnership, new initiatives under the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, and Indonesia’s participation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity.

Blinken also commended Indonesia’s leadership on the issue of women and girls’ education in Afghanistan. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): The Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises has issued a new circular to extend the current moratorium on granting of licenses for savings and loan cooperatives until April 2023.

"The moratorium is enforced for the establishment of new savings and loan cooperatives and for existing savings and loan cooperatives seeking to open new branch offices," the ministry's Deputy for Cooperatives Affairs Ahmad Zabadi noted, as per the statement here Friday.

Zabadi remarked that the current circular on the savings and loan cooperatives moratorium aims to continue the moratorium enforced through Ministry's Circular No. 11 of 2022, valid for a three-month period since its issuance on November 17, 2022.

The decision to freeze the issuance of savings and loan cooperatives licenses was taken to address the abuse of such cooperatives by their operators.

"The ministry also found that there are cooperatives with savings and loan function that did not (perform their business) according to the principles of cooperatives and prevailing laws," Zabadi stated.

As more time would be needed to address the issue, the ministry decided to extend the moratorium that will affect the establishment of new savings and loan cooperatives and new branches of existing cooperatives, he remarked.

Zabadi stated that apart from enforcing the moratorium policy, the ministry is also drafting a ministerial regulation on savings and loan aspects in cooperatives that will be issued soon.

Earlier, Minister Teten Masduki proposed the establishment of an authority body to oversee activities of and ensure deposits in cooperatives through the revision of relevant laws.

"Medium- and large-scale savings and loan cooperatives must have an oversight agency, similar to OJK (in the banking sector), but specialized for cooperatives. The United States and Japan already have such agencies," he had stated on Wednesday (February 8).

Masduki highlighted the urgency of an oversight agency for cooperatives to protect their members, as larger cooperatives handle multiple financial transactions, yet the current Cooperatives Law is inadequate. (Antaranews)