Famous Pakistani fashion designer Nomi Ansari’s name has been added to the passport control list due to a tax fraud case.
Nomi Ansari has filed a petition in the Sindh High Court against this decision. The first hearing on the case was held today. His lawyer said that the High Court had already stopped any action in the tax fraud case against him.
The court has now asked the federal government and others involved to respond by July 8, and the hearing has been postponed until then.
In April, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), through its Corporate Tax Office in Karachi, filed an FIR against Nomi Ansari, accusing him of sales tax fraud worth Rs 1.25 billion. The FIR was registered on April 18, claiming that the owner of the fashion label Nomi Ansari was involved in tax fraud under Section 2(37) of the Sales Tax Act 1990.
Nomi Ansari challenged the FIR in the Sindh High Court, saying it was against a previous court order given on April 18 and had no legal authority. The court had earlier stopped the FBR from taking any further forced action and asked the Deputy Attorney General and the officer who filed the FIR to explain their position.
The FIR also mentioned three other people — Hussain Kazmi, Syed Ali Masoom Naqvi, and Imran Mosil. It said that Nomi Ansari was involved in under-declaring sales income. An analysis of his tax returns showed major mismatches and unusual details. It was claimed that he declared taxable sales without showing any purchases, which did not match the type of business he runs.
During the investigation, FBR found that the information Nomi had declared was incorrect. Third-party data from banks showed that he was receiving foreign remittances and large amounts of cash without proper documents.
On February 20, FBR got search warrants from the court and searched three of Nomi Ansari’s brand outlets. They also searched a hidden manufacturing unit in Mehran Town, Karachi.
During the raid, documents were found showing that the business was much bigger than what was shown in tax records. It was claimed that he had hidden a large amount of sales. The team also found receipts and folders of money exchange slips showing large cash deposits made under the names of Nomi Ansari’s staff.
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