The offices of Chinese distribution partners of OPPO and Xiaomi are being raided by the Income Tax (IT) department in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Rajkot.
Some sources (via Economic Times) say that the IT department is likely to raid offices of all state-distribution partners of OPPO, with different directorates carrying them out. Offices of such companies including premises of senior executives are being searched, with raids commencing early morning and lasting till the end of the day.
But the IT department isn’t the only one involved in such operations as it’s joined by ED that has also been conducting similar raids. OPPO’s Chinese distribution partner was recently penalized in hundreds of crores by the ED in Hyderabad, a person familiar with the matter said.
It’s likely that the raids are being conducted as a way to convey the government’s stance on the concerned brands, considering that there is no other legal way. For the uninitiated, the Indian government is in a process of stopping OEMs like OPPO and vivo from operating through their Chinese partners and channeling their products through local companies instead.
Currently, OPPO and vivo together command over 25% of the market share in the country, with Xiaomi also holding a major share. The former two are part of BBK Electronics, which is also a parent company of OnePlus and realme. These companies have of late created a layer of Chinese partners to distribute their products in the market, which has caught the attention of Indian officials.
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