By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Tax authorities have slapped criminal charges on celebrated fashion designer Nomi Ansari, accusing him of dodging Rs1.2 billion in taxes in a case that’s potentially rock the country’s elite fashion world.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) alleges Ansari and three associates evaded over Rs1.2 billion in taxes by concealing over Rs1.3 billion in sales from 2018 to 2025.
The high-stakes probe, one of Pakistan’s boldest tax crackdowns, culminated in a First Information Report (FIR) filed on April 18 in Karachi, following a months-long audit and a court-sanctioned raid on the designer’s business premises. It names Ansari and aides Hussain Kazmi, Syed Ali Mesum Naqvi, and Imran Musel, charging them with falsifying records, systematically suppress sales, and funneling foreign cash through shady transfer networks.
Ansari, whose vibrant designs adorn Pakistan’s rich and famous, runs his brand from a glitzy Karachi showroom. The case exposes rare scrutiny on a luxury sector long seen as untouchable.
The probe began after FBR officials in Karachi’s Corporate Tax Office spotted inconsistencies in Ansari’s tax filings, with reported sales not matching purchases. “The figures didn’t align with the business’s scale,” said a senior tax official, requesting not to be named. “The numbers screamed foul play.”
In February 2025, FBR officials, backed by court warrants, stormed three sites tied to Ansari, uncovering a secret factory in Korangi’s Mehran Town. They seized damning evidence: voucher books, computers, bank slips, and remittance records.
The FBR alleges Ansari ran a double-book scheme—real sales in one ledger, a fraction reported in another. In November 2024, sales topped Rs24.5 million, but only Rs3.2 million were declared. Foreign payments, including a Rs233,875 Western Union transfer, were allegedly routed through staff to dodge banks.
“The designer maintained two parallel sets of accounting records. One reflected the actual volume of sales, while another, significantly understated, was used for tax filings,” the FBR official said.
Investigators flagged three revenue streams—retail at Ansari’s upscale store, wholesale via M/s Cresset Strategic Partners, and cash-settled foreign orders—all systematically underreported.
“Each of these revenue sources was either underreported or omitted altogether in tax filings,” the official added. Several remittance slips recovered during the raid showed substantial sums, including one payment transferred via Western Union to an employee of the business.”
An FBR order on April 17 pegged the evaded tax at Rs239.7 million, ballooning to Rs1.22 billion with penalties.
Ansari was registered with the FBR as a manufacturer since 2012, and that evidence of industrial-scale operations—such as stitching machines, labor logs, packaging material, and utility bills—were found during the search, refuting the company’s claim that it merely provided fashion design services subject to the jurisdiction of the Sindh Revenue Board.
Ansari’s legal team cries foul, claiming the FBR overstepped into provincial tax territory and botched notice delivery. They also cited procedural errors, alleging that key notices were not served in time and referencing a 2019 court ruling in a separate case involving Agha Steel, But the FBR fires back with courier receipts and legal grounds for the raids.
“Given multiple chances, Ansari’s camp offered no hard financial data, only excuses, pushing the FBR to seek prosecution under laws allowing jail for willful evasion,” the tax official said.
The scandal has ignited a firestorm over Pakistan’s tax system, where salaried workers face heavy audits while luxury empires skate free. “If a top designer can cheat for years, the system’s broken,” a tax analyst said
No arrests have been made in the case as Ansari was granted protective bail by a provincial high court. Ansari was not immediately reachable for comment.
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