Truecaller, a smartphone application firm, on Thursday said it was assisting the authorities to the full extent at its offices in Mumbai and Gurugram. The Swedish caller ID platform issued a statement after the Income-Tax Department conducted a survey operation at its offices on charges of tax evasion.
Will cooperate fully with the relevant authorities: Truecaller
"Truecaller is currently assisting the authorities to the full extent at our offices. This came without prior notice and Truecaller is currently awaiting official confirmation and communication from the tax departments. This is not an uncommon practice and Truecaller will cooperate fully with the relevant authorities. With regards to taxation, as a publicly-listed company, our practices are entirely transparent," said Truecaller in the statement.
Income tax department today conducted survey on “Truecaller” offices. Income tax sleuths surveyed the offices in Mumbai and Gurugram for violating transfer pricing regulations: Official sources to ANI
Truecaller is currently assisting the authorities to the full extent at our offices. This came without prior notice and Truecaller is currently awaiting official confirmation and communication from the tax departments. This is not an uncommon practice and Truecaller will cooperate fully with the relevant authorities. With regards to taxation, as a publicly-listed company, our practices are entirely transparent: Truecaller
Tax evasion charges against Trucaller: Sources
According to the sources, the IT Department's survey commenced over alleged charges of tax evasion. The Stockholm-headquartered company said it was cooperating with the investigators.
Tax officials said the survey operation was aimed to gather detailed information and check documents in connection with certain charges of tax evasion including those pertaining to transfer pricing (TP) issues.
They had earlier said it was search action. As part of a survey, the taxman only visits the business premises of an entity under probe whereas as part of a search operation, business as well as residential and linked premises are covered.
According to the company's website, Truecaller has offices in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Gurugram in India.
The company said in a public statement that "On Thursday 7 November 2024, Truecaller's India offices were visited by Indian Tax officials."
It said the company was not subject to "any tax investigation in India outside the routine tax audits." "Truecaller's group financial statements have always received an unqualified audit opinion. Truecaller has always paid all taxes due in India and all regions where it operates," it said.
The company said its transfer pricing policy for its intra-group transactions is consistent with the internationally accepted arm's length standard, as has been informed earlier.
"The purpose is to ensure that Truecaller pays tax in a way that is correct from the perspective of both the Swedish and the Indian tax authorities. The policy is continuously independently reviewed to ensure that it meets the tax law requirements of both countries," the company said.
Truecaller said on its website that it has 425 million monthly active users around the world on Android and iOS platforms to identify numbers and block spam.
(With PTI inputs)
