Aviva Life faces search by GST authorities

Indian tax inspectors recently raided the Aviva Life in New Delhi and took records as part of their probe into possible tax cheating.

According to two of the three sources—who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the subject—officials from India's Directorate General of GST (Goods and Services Tax) Intelligence also confiscated laptops and questioned a number of officials, including CEO Asit Rath and Chief Financial Officer Sonali Athalye, during their visit on November 7.

Aviva Life Insurance, India provided Reuters with a statement that said, "We can confirm that GST officials visited our head office site, and we are in full cooperation with them." It did not provide any more information and remained silent on the questioning of its executives.

A request for comments via email was not immediately answered by the finance ministry of India, which is in charge of the GST department.