A restaurant director from Kenilworth in Warwickshire has been fined and banned from owning or managing a company for 5 years for not submitting the correct sales figures for VAT returns and avoiding  paying Corporation Tax.

The director of Simla Restaurant, entered into liquidation in August 2019, this triggered an investigation by the Insolvency Service into the his conduct.

Investigators uncovered that the business had traded between 2002 and mid 2008 without issue. However, in June 2008, it was discovered that inaccurate returns had been submitted to the tax authorities.

It was established that the director owed over £48,000 in VAT and almost £113,000 in Corporation Tax from 2009 to 2017. The company traded as a restaurant called Simla Tandoori from premises in Blandford Forum, Dorset. He had underdeclared sales to avoid paying the correct taxes and, at liquidation, owed the tax authorities more than £266,000. An additional penalty of over £104,000 was levied by the tax authorities for the under declaration of corporation tax.

The director did not dispute he failed to ensure Simla Restaurant Limited had submitted accurate VAT returns from June 2008 and Corporation Tax returns from October and has been banned from directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.

Lawrence Zussman, Deputy Director of Insolvent Investigations at the Insolvency Service, said:

“The director suppressed the takings of his restaurant for almost eight years so that he could avoid paying the correct taxes.

His actions meant the public purse was deprived of the funds he should have been paying whilst benefitting from years of good sales. The Insolvency Service will not tolerate behaviour such as this and we have removed him from the business environment for five years.”