By Our Special Correspondent
The Income Tax department on Wednesday conducted a survey operation on Delhi-based think tank Center for Policy Research (CPR) and global NGO Oxfam India and Bengaluru-based Media Foundation as part of its probe into violations of the FCRA. Official sources told PTI.
The Media Foundation is an independent and public-spirited media foundation that partially funds several digital media outlets in India.
The I-T department also raided three other organizations in the NGO and charity domain, they said.
The department visited the premises of these firms in the afternoon and inspected the books of accounts and financial transactions as part of the investigation into the violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
As for SIPR, Income Tax sources said the search was conducted based on "cradle information" about tax evasion.
Regarding its funding, CPR's website says the think tank is recognized by the government as a not-for-profit society and donations are "tax-deductible".
It states that CPR receives grants from the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR) and is a Department of Science and Technology (DST) recognized institution.
CPR says it is a member organization of the Think Tank Initiative (TTI), a program of the International Development Research Center.
The raids came on the same day as income tax raids in some states including Maharashtra & Gujarat as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion and financial irregularities by unrecognized political parties on donations received illegally.
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