India blocks bank accounts of ByteDance

Indian authorities have blocked the bank accounts of TikTok's parent company ByteDance for the alleged tax evasion, as per the report.

The Chinese company has asked a court to quash the directive which it fears will hit its operations. ByteDance in January cut its India workforce owing to TikTok ban and still has around 1,300 employees in India.

ByteDance in January cut its Indian workforce after New Delhi decided to retain a ban on its popular video app TikTok, first prohibited last year following a border clash between India and China. Whereas, China has repeatedly criticised India's move and said it suspected it was against WTO rules.

In mid-March, authorities ordered two of ByteDance India's bank accounts in Citibank and HSBC to be blocked because of alleged evasion of certain taxes in online advertising dealings between the ByteDance unit in India and its parent entity in Singapore, TikTok Pte Ltd.

The authorities also directed Citibank and HSBC to prevent ByteDance India from withdrawing funds from any other bank accounts linked to its tax identification number. However, ByteDance said "we disagree with the decision of the tax authority" in this matter, adding that it was committed to legal compliance and will cooperate with the government.