Tax abuse gets company director six-year ban

A man from Hove has been disqualified for leading or managing a company for six years after he was found to have under-declared tax on his restaurant.

Emad Abdolkhani was the sole director of Code Hove Limited, which traded the Barcode restaurant on Church Road in Hove. The restaurant shut shop in June 2018, and a winding up-order was made against the company in October 2019 after it had defaulted on tax payments.

The liquidation process triggered an investigation by the Insolvency Service, which uncovered that in addition to failing to pay the tax it was believed the company owed, Mr Abdolkhani had inaccurately recorded the company’s sales and under-declared the amount of tax due by more than £60,000.

The company now owes HMRC more than £200,000 in outstanding tax payments, including accrued penalties, charges and interest.

Mr Abdolkhani did not dispute that he failed to ensure that the company submitted accurate VAT returns.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy disqualified Mr Adkolkhani from acting as a director or directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company for a period of six years.

Marc Symons, deputy head of insolvent investigations, reminded directors that they must ensure their companies pay the correct taxes.

“The restaurateur’s ban should serve as a warning that if you fail to fulfil your obligations and seek to gain an unfair advantage over competitors, by failing to properly account and pay for your tax, you could lose the protection of limited liability,” Mr Symons said.