KHUDAYAR MOHLA

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan said on Monday that any income from sale of his London flat was not taxable in Pakistan, saying any amount remitted by Jemima Khan or Niazi Services Limited (NSL) was duly declared in Pakistan.

Imran said this in revised concise statement that he submitted to the Supreme Court in response to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Hanif Abbasi’s plea seeking his disqualification from Parliament over alleged non-disclosure of assets and tax evasion. The matter is fixed before a three-member bench of Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar for Oct 17 (today).

Syed Naeem Bokhari, the counsel for Imran, “The position earlier taken qua the remaining almost 100,000 GBP retained by NSL in 2003 was based on memory, incorrect advice, absence of the requisite record, lack of documentary information.”

Bokhari submitted that his client had nothing to gain by not disclosing to the authorities in Pakistan and to the apex court, the utilization of approximately 100,000 GBP retained by the directors/shareholders of NSL, adding that the amount was not taxable in Pakistan.

Bokhari further said his client had accounts in Bank Alfalah and Allied Bank in Pakistan in Pak rupees, US dollars, euro and sterling pounds, saying the amount in the account was not taxable in Pakistan.

He said that the income tax authorities assessed the tax payable by Khan for the year ending June 30, 2003, adding that all income tax returns have already been submitted to the apex court.

Khan’s counsel submitted that a settlement was reached with the tenant after litigation in Amsterdam and the NSL was also operating euro account whereas Imran received a total of 42,456 euros from NSL in two tranches of 20,000 euros and 22,456.70 euros on July 4, 2007 and March 4, 2008 respectively.

Bokhari said that such amount was converted officially into Pak rupees and declared to the tax authorities whereas he also attached entire bank statements of the NSL euro account with the concise statement. Bokhari added that these accounts were not required to be declared to the Election Commission of Pakistan as Imran Khan ceased to be a Member of National Assembly in October 2007.

Bokhari said that the records of the NSL available with the successor to Barclays Private Trust have now been received, adding that by 2012, nothing was receivable and the demand to give more money by shareholders/directors of the NSL was refused. “To the best of the information of Imran Khan, the NSL was de-notified in 2012 and its ghostly paper existence came to an end for non-filing of annual returns,” Bokhari said.