Even as the Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the government to unblock contributions to Greenpeace, the NGO seems to have another battle on its hands.
On March 31, 2014, Greenpeace India Society received a notice from the Income Tax department asking it to pay Rs 2.484 crore for the financial year 2010-11 and assessment year 2011-2012. Another notice for Rs. 1.49 crore was sent to Greenpeace Environmental Trust for the same period, adding up to Rs 3.794 crore. The notice from the deputy director of Income Tax, Chennai, said the amount should be paid within 30 days of receiving the notice, failing which the NGO would have to pay simple interest at the rate of one-and-a-half per cent every month.
In response to questions from TheHindu, Greenpeace India executive director Samit Aich said the NGO was planning to contest the amount. “We got Income Tax notices for about Rs 4 crore for financial year 2010-11, Assessment Year 2011-12. We have appealed to the appellate authority, but in the meantime we have agreed to pay 25 per cent of that amount… about Rs.99.47 lakh. We believe that the Income tax demand is not rational and we are determined to contest that.”
Greenpeace has also had to scale down its operations in India after its funds were blocked last year. We have had to make some strategic adjustments to our operational plans like infrastructure and some staff contracts that were due for renewal,” said Mr. Aich. “However, we are conscious that these operational decisions should have minimum impact on our mission and our strategies for the future.”
A leaked Intelligence Bureau report last year had targeted Greenpeace’s campaigning activities in India and the government decided to block international funds from two entities to its account. Also the government did not allow Ms. Priya Pillai, one of its senior campaigners, go to London at the invitation of British MPs. Last month, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) directed the Reserve Bank (RBI) to stop all foreign funding into the accounts of four other NGOs — Bank Information Centre (BIC), Avaaz, 350.org and Sierra Club — without its clearance. According to RBI records, the international NGOs were not registered with the government. Neither had their employees in India applied for FCRA clearance.
