ED issues notice to Byju’s for allegedly violating foreign exchange rules
The Enforcement Directorate alleged that the company made foreign remittances outside India in contravention to the Foreign Exchange Management Act.
The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday said it has issued a show cause notice to online education portal Byju’s and its founder and Chief Executive Officer Byju Raveendran for allegedly violating the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, amounting to the tune of Rs 9,362.35 crore.
In a press release, the agency alleged that Think and Learn Private Limited, Byju’s parent company, “have made significant foreign remittances outside India and investments abroad” in violation of provisions of the Act, causing a loss of revenue to the government.
In April, the agency had conducted searches of Byju’s office and Raveendran’s home following complaints regarding foreign investment and the business conduct of the company.
It had alleged that the company received Foreign Direct Investment to the tune of Rs 28, 000 crore between 2011 and 2023. The company also remitted Rs 9,754 crore to various foreign countries during the period.
On Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate said that following raids, the officials questioned Raveendran and Byju’s chief financial officer and found that the company did not submit documents of imports against advance remittances made outside India.
It alleged that the company violated the foreign exchange rules by delaying filing documents against Foreign Direct Investment it had received as well as against remittances made outside India. The agency also alleged that the company failed to allot Foreign Direct Investment shares in contravention to the rules.
Founded in 2011, Byju’s, a Bengaluru-based startup, launched its online learning app in 2015. In its financial statement for the year 2020-’21, the company posted a consolidated loss of over Rs 4,500 crore, the highest ever by an Indian startup. The financial statement was released in September, after an 18-month delay, following compliance-related concerns flagged by the company’s auditor, Deloitte.