Oxfam, CPR deny flouting laws; say cooperated with I-T officials during survey

NEW DELHI: NGO Oxfam India and think tank Centre for Policy Research (CPR) have denied flouting any rule vis-à-vis foreign funding, and said they have cooperated with I-T officials who surveyed their premises this week as part of an FCRA probe.
The premises of six organisations, including Oxfam and CPR were surveyed earlier this week by I-T officials, who closely looked at their balance sheets vis-a-vis the receipt of funds via the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
"The Income Tax Department visited our office to undertake a survey of CPR on September 7 and 8. We have extended full cooperation to the department during the survey and will continue to do so in the future.
"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," the Delhi-based think tank said in a statement.
Oxfam also issued a statement saying it is a "law-abiding and community-centric" organisation with full copliance with Indian laws. The organisation has filed all its statutory compliances, including Income tax and FCRA returns, it said.
"During these 35-plus hours of non-stop survey, Oxfam India team members were not allowed to leave the premises; the Internet was shut down and all the mobile phones were confiscated.
"The Income Tax survey team took away hundreds of pages of data pertaining to finances and programs of Oxfam India. They also took all the data by cloning the Oxfam India server and the private mobile phones of the senior leadership team and the finance lead," Oxfam said.
However the NGO said the I-T officials who visited their premises were "polite and professional," it further said.
Last year in December, the MHA had refused renewing Oxfam's FCRA licence.
(With agency inputs)