New Delhi/Calcutta, July 3 :    New Delhi/Calcutta, July 3:  The government today ordered a probe into the Xerox bribery scandal even as the beleaguered office equipment giant said the amount involved could be much higher than the $ 7,00,000 (Rs 3 crore) it had indicated to the US regulators in its mandatory filing. The department of company affairs has already decided that it will be investigating the issue and inspecting books of accounts maintained by the Indian arm under a little-used provision in Company Law. 'We have ordered inspection of accounts to ascertain the facts as reported by the company itself,' company affairs secretary Vinod Dhall said. The BJP party, which itself may be hit by the scandal, also tried to firefight by fielding its party spokesman and former law minister Arun Jaitley who told newsmen, 'If what has been stated by Xerox is true, it is a serious violation of Indian laws - anti-graft and Company - and requires an investigation.' Top government officials said once definitive information is received either from inspections carried out in India or from Xerox, individual cases would be handed over to the Central Vigilance Commission wherever it involved any central government employee. The Xerox scandal is likely to hit not only central government departments which purchased office equipment, but also state governments and state-run companies. The Central Bureau of Investigation also said it may take up a probe suo motu. Both the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and CBI have powers to suo-motu take up charges of corruption against civil servants, which is punishable by rigorous imprisonment and tough fines under Indian penal laws. Finance ministry officials said the investigating agency would in any case be formally requested after CVC decided it needed to proceed under criminal law. Xerox has reported to US' Securities and Exchange Commission, that its Indian subsidiary Modi Xerox paid bribes totalling at least $ 7,00,000 (or about Rs 3.5 crore) in 2000 itself. Meanwhile, Xerox Corp's spokesman Paul Arrowsmith told The Telegraph over the phone from London that bribery was a 'long standing practice' at its Indian outfit until Xerox Corp put a stop to it two years ago when it took control of Xerox Modicorp. He added that Xerox Corp did not have 'a complete understanding of the amount that its subsidiary in India spent' to push sales to government offices. The 'detailed investigation' that was concluded in May, could not ascertain when the practice of bribing government officials started or the amount spent on such 'improper payments' over the years. Xerox reported to the SEC that its Indian subsidiary had made 'improper payments' of $ 6,00,000-$ 7,00,000 to government officials in 2000. It also told the Indian government about the practice. Asked whether Xerox held the Modis responsible for the payments, Arrowsmith said: 'We gained management control in August 1999. The officers responsible for the payments are no longer with the company.' He refused comment on whether Xerox's sales to government offices suffered after it stopped bribing government officials. In Delhi, officials said if Xerox was able to give year-wise details for over a decade it could well open a Pandora's Box that could spark investigations against a generation of civil servants and almost all state and central governments and leaders of most political parties who were running these governments during this period.