Leading fashion designers under Income Tax scanner as teams land at stores, factories

The Income Tax Department conducted checks at the stores, factories and residences of leading fashion designers at multiple locations in NCR on Tuesday. Officials from the department informed agencies that 25 locations in NCR were being surveyed for alleged tax evasion. The checks were reportedly conducted on the basis of inputs received by the department pertaining to large cash transactions.
Sources say that I-T officials reached designer stores in areas like Qutub Complex, South Ex, Defence Colony, Khan Market and at DLF Emporio – the luxury mall in Vasant Kunj that houses multiple designer boutiques – and designers’ factories in Noida at around noon. “Rohit Bal, Tarun Tahiliani, Shantanu & Nikhil and Ritu Kumar are among the fashion designers whose premises were surveyed. I-T officials reached their stores, factories and residences at around noon and continued checks till late evening on Tuesday,” sources confirmed, adding that I-T officials told the staff at some stores that they were planning these checks for the last two months.
Rohit Bal’s store hadn’t opened till noon on Wednesday, but Shantanu & Nikhil, Tarun Tahiliani and Ritu Kumar’s stores were open and back to business
While stores usually close by 10pm at Emporio, only three stores – that of Tarun Tahiliani, Rohit Bal and Shantanu & Nikhil – had their lights on at about 10:30pm on Tuesday, with notices pasted on their glass doors. The notice outside Tahiliani’s store read, ‘Store Closed For The Day Due To Audit’, while the notices on the doors of Rohit Bal’s and Shantanu & Nikhil’s stores said, ‘Stock Take In Process’.
Each of the three stores had a few I-T officers conducting checks. A few more officers arrived at around 11pm, and entered Shantanu & Nikhil’s store, which already had five-six people sifting through piles of dresses. The guards at the mall denied any knowledge about the proceedings, but were constantly talking about the progress of the checking in the stores over their walkie-talkies.

Back to business
Shantanu & Nikhil, Tarun Tahiliani and Ritu Kumar’s stores at Emporio were open and back to business by noon on Wednesday. A staff member at one of the stores told us, “I-T officials left very late last night and that is why there has been a delay today in opening the store.”
None of the designers had commented on the checks or responded to queries till the time of going to press. Designer Leena Singh, who has a store at Emporio, said, “I am aware of the I-T checks since I have a store at the same mall. I got a call from my manager at the store informing me that some I-T officials were at a few stores for a check. Checks started immediately and went on throughout the day. I got to know that the officials left these stores in the wee hours on Wednesday. I don’t know further details, but I only feel sad. This is anyway a dull season for us and things like this do impact business.”
— With inputs from Richa Sharma