Punjab Revenue Authority seals HSY's outlet in Lahore

LAHORE (Staff Report) - The Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) Saturday sealed the business premises of renowned fashion designer Hassan Sheheryar Yasin (HSY) on filing ‘nil’ monthly sales tax returns.

An enforcement team of the PRA led by Additional Commissioner Ayesha Ranjha and Assistant Commissioner Sumaira Umbreen sealed the business premises of HSY on the directives of Chairperson Dr Raheel Ahmad Siddiqui. The premises has been sealed by invoking Punjab Sales Tax on Services (Enforcement) Rules, 2014.

Further legal action against Hassan Sheheryar Yasin and Mehmood Lillah, a senior grade-20 officer currently posted as Director, Law, Lahore at FBR is also being contemplated on grounds of interfering with government business.

PRA has also contacted FBR Chairman requesting him to take appropriate disciplinary action against the officer.

According to details, PRA had deputed its monitoring staff on Friday on the premises located at Gulberg III, Lahore to monitor the sales of the fashion designer to investigate that he had been filing ‘nil’ monthly sales tax returns, said a press release.

PRA has served a notice under section 59 of the Punjab Sales Tax on Services Act, 2012 for deputing the staff at the business premises of HSY.

However, the management of HSY did not appear keen on having the monitoring staff positioned at their business premises, which was proven by their subsequent actions.

However, throughout Friday and Saturday, its enforcement staff member Rizwan Gondal was not allowed to sit near the reception and instead seated in an adjoining room.

He was not given access to any sales record for the purpose of monitoring and was not allowed to operate freely.

On Saturday afternoon at around 2:30pm, a middle-aged gentleman arrived at the premises and introduced himself as a Commissioner of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

He asked several questions from the deputed staff member of PRA and tried to contact PRA’s high-ups for stopping the monitoring. The whole time his effort was to intervene on behalf of HSY.

Later on, it turned out he was Mehmood Lillah and was acting entirely in his personal capacity.

At around 4:15pm, a television reporter from private TV channel, arrived on the premises. However, she was very harshly treated by Lillah. He pushed her around, took away her camera and forced her out. Then he turned back his attention to the PRA staff.