The Income Tax Department carried out searches on Wednesday at the premises of think tank Centre for Policy Research, charity organisation Oxfam India and Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation (IPSMF) for alleged foreign contribution regulation act violations.
The sleuths carried out searches at locations in Delhi, Haryana, Maharastra, Gujarat, and Bengaluru, among other places, over suspected funding of more than 20 registered but not-recognised political parties, said sources. The IT officials, however, were not willing to go on record to share details of the searches.
The IT search teams landed at the premises of the targetted organisations on Wednesday and went through the books of accounts and financial transactions to enquire into alleged contraventions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, IT sources said.
The key office-bearers and main directors of the organisations were also questioned on the suspicion of diversion of foreign donations, the sources added.
All NGOs, receiving funds from abroad have to get themselves registered under the FCRA. The Centre has cancelled the FCRA registration of nearly 1,900 NGOs for contravention of FCRA rules and guidelines in the past five years. Till last December, 22,762 organisations were registered under the FCRA.