Chinese tech giant Huawei raided over evasion of tax

New Delhi, February 16

The Income Tax Department carried out raids at premises linked to Chinese tech conglomerate Huawei across the country in connection with alleged tax evasion.

According to sources, the raids were conducted at the firm’s premises in Delhi, Gurugram and Bengaluru on Tuesday. They said income tax sleuths looked at financial documents, account books and company records as part of a tax evasion investigation against the company, its Indian businesses and overseas transactions. Some records were seized too, they added.

Complying with laws

We have been informed of the visit of an income tax team to our office. Our operations in India are compliant with all laws and regulations. Huawei

The company said its operations in the country were “firmly compliant” with the law. “We have been informed of the visit of an income tax team to our office and also of their meeting with some personnel. We will approach related government departments for more information and fully cooperate as per the rules and regulations and follow the right procedure,” the company is reported to have said in a statement.

The government has kept Huawei out of trials for 5G services. But telecom operators in India have been allowed to source equipment from Huawei and ZTE under their old agreements for maintaining their networks.

However, as per National Security Directive on Telecommunication Sector, the companies entering into new business agreement with Huawei and ZTE would need prior approval of the government.

The I-T Department had last year conducted searches against Chinese mobile communication and handset manufacturing companies like Xiaomi and Oppo and claimed to have detected alleged unaccounted income worth over Rs 6,500 crore due to violation of the tax law and regulations.