ARY News on Thursday reported that big apparel brands have come under the radar of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and renowned fashion designers were also booked in a tax fraud case.

The entire fashion industry has come under the radar of the FBR for alleged large scale tax evasion. A renowned fashion designer has been booked by FBR Intelligence Karachi in a tax fraud case.

ARY News accessed the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Intelligence Department of the FBR against a renowned fashion designer.

Sources in FBR Intelligence told ARY News that several big apparel brands were involved in sales tax evasion. Sources said the fashion designers were causing huge loss to the national exchequer through fake sales tax invoices and use of smuggled garments.

According to the FIR, the fashion designer allegedly hid Rs 14 crore in sales tax in invoices mentioning sales of Rs 83 crore. Sources said that several popular clothing brands and fashion designers in the country were involved in the false invoicing.

FBR Intelligence indicated the initiation of action against renowned fashion designers to curb tax fraud in the coming days. It was learned that big brands were using smuggled fabric from Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and other areas.

Sources said that after the arrest, the famous fashion designer got bail after paying a bond of Rs 50 lakh.