Indian tax authorities search premises of Chinese telecom company Huawei

India's income tax authorities have conducted searches at multiple premises of Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies as part of a tax investigation.

The searches were conducted at Huawei's office premises in New Delhi, neighbouring Gurugram and tech hub Bengaluru on Tuesday.

The officials were looking at the financial documents, account books, and Huawei's Indian businesses as well as overseas transactions. 

"We have been informed of the visit of (the) income tax team to our office and also of their meeting with some personnel," Huawei said in a statement.

"Huawei is confident our operations in India are firmly compliant with all laws and regulations. We will approach related government departments for more information and fully cooperate as per the rules and regulations."

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Earlier this week, India's home ministry banned 54 mobile applications of Chinese origin, including the popular game Garena Free Fire, several news outlets reported.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also conducted searches and frozen assets of Chinese-controlled companies and non banking financial companies (NBFCs) dishing out instant loans through mobile apps in India.

Tensions between New Delhi and Beijing have been running high since a deadly 2020 clash involving their militaries near Line of Actual Control (LAC). Anti-China sentiment has grown in India since then, sparking calls for a boycott of goods from the neighbouring country.

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India is the world's second-biggest market by number of phone users, and the government has justified the bans on the apps, saying they threatened its sovereignty and integrity.

Last year India overlooked Huawei when it named foreign network equipment suppliers allowed to carry out 5G trials.

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

In 2020, the government had banned TikTok and a host of other popular short video apps from China. 

(With inputs from agencies)