External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday "firmly" told his British counterpart James Cleverly that all entities operating in India must fully comply with relevant laws after the visiting foreign secretary raised the issue of tax searches at BBC's offices.
Cleverly, who is on a visit to India to attend a meeting of the G20 foreign ministers, raised the issue during a bilateral meeting with Jaishankar.
"UK foreign secretary brought up the BBC tax issue with EAM today. He was firmly told that all entities operating in India must comply fully with relevant laws and regulations," a source in the Indian government said.
Last month, the income tax department conducted survey operations at the BBC's offices in Delhi and Mumbai as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion.
The tax scrutiny was conducted weeks after the UK-headquartered British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) aired a two-part documentary, India: The Modi Question, on the prime minister and the 2002 Gujarat riots.
India dismissed the documentary as a "propaganda piece" saying it is designed to push a particular "discredited narrative".
"The conversations I had with him are best to keep with him. I did raise it," the British foreign secretary told Reuters.
"One of the advantages of having such a strong and professional relationship with Dr Jaishankar is I am able to bring up, and indeed he brings up with me, some of these sensitive issues. I did raise it with him," he said.
The action against the BBC by the income tax department sparked an outcry from opposition parties, which claimed that the action was linked with the release of the controversial documentary. The ruling BJP had said the "timing of the action was not decided by any government or outside power" and the department should be allowed to do its work.
Days after the tax survey, the income tax authorities said the income and profits shown by various BBC group entities are "not commensurate" with the scale of their operations in India and tax has not been paid on certain remittances by its foreign entities.
The British government strongly defended the BBC and its editorial freedom.
In their talks, Jaishankar and Cleverly also deliberated on ways to expand India-UK engagement in a number of areas. However, it is not known whether they touched upon the proposed free trade agreement between the two countries.
In a tweet, Jaishankar said the two sides reviewed the progress in the bilateral relations and exchanged views on the global situation as well as the G20 agenda.
"Began the morning with a bilateral meeting with Foreign Secretary @JamesCleverly of the UK. Reviewed the progress in our relationship since our last discussion. Noted in particular the commencement of the Young Professional Scheme," he said.
"Also exchanged views on the global situation as well as the G20 agenda," he added.
It is understood that the implementation of a 10-year roadmap between India and the UK to bolster the ties in diverse areas figured in the talks.
The India-UK relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the India-UK virtual summit held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then British prime minister Boris Johnson in May 2021.
At the summit, the two sides adopted a 10-year roadmap to expand ties in the key areas of trade and economy, defence and security, climate change and people-to-people connections among others.
The two sides have been engaged in negotiations for a free trade agreement as well.
In November last, Modi and his British counterpart Rishi Sunak held talks in Bali on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.
