KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)’s wing, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation-Inland Revenue (I&I-IR), speeding up the ongoing drive against high net worth individuals, conducted a raid on a business place of celebrated fashion designer Tabassum Mughal and resumed the crucial record.

Sources informed Custom News that I&I-IR, on verification of returns record maintained at Scandata and FBR’s Integrated Tax Management System (ITMS), discovered that the Tabassum Mughal despite getting herself registered with Income Tax Department has never filed income tax return/wealth statement.

According to reliable internal sources, the Directorate of I&I-IR found that Tabasuum Mughal, a business individual running a company under the name of Tabassum Mughal Haute Couture (TMHC), having National Tax Number 3921893-7, is allegedly involved in tax fraud as she was identified by I&I-IR intending to defraud the government by not paying taxes that she knows are lawfully due.

I&I-IR gathered information that Tabassum Mughal is involved in designing and production of expensive and fashionable garments, especially bridal and casual dresses under the name and style of TMHC while the said business is carried out at F-70, D-83 Kehkashan Clifton Karachi.

Accordingly, on the basis of above said information, the action under U/S 175 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, was conducted on 19th of February 2016 and the team members successfully discovered a full fledged un-declared manufacturing unit established in basement of the premises, where about twenty skilled workers were engaged in stitching and embroidery. A full functional designing section having six latest computers and six designers was also unveiled, sources added.

The team members thoroughly examined the record available in the premises and resumed CPU, payment vouchers, diaries, price tags, and the other relevant data under proper seizure/record resumption memo, duly signed by the officers as well as representatives/witnesses of the registered person.

The team members concluded the action and reported back to the office of Directorate of I&I-IR where the matter was reported and the resumed record/CPU were kept ion safe custody.

Presently, the resumed record is under examination and further progress in the case will be reported in due course of time. It is important to mention here that recently the FBR issued a directive to all regional directors of I&I-IR wings which are situated in Peshawar, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Lahore, Multan, Hyderabad and Karachi advising them to furnish updated information regarding high net worth individuals who are allegedly defaulters of billions of rupees in taxes by concealing their actual annual incomes in their tax returns.