Six-year trade ban on Gujaratis filing false tax returns in Britain

(PTI) London, Ta. Friday, October 2, 2020

A Gujarati-origin grocery trader was banned from holding office and trading in any company for six years on charges of filing false tax returns.

Prateek Kumar Patel admitted the disqualification, though no court proceedings were instituted in the process.

"Most public services are provided with honest tax and taxpayer money. If there is a loss, it affects the services, because most companies pay taxes honestly," said Lawrence Zussman, head of insolvency investigations at the insolvency service. He also said that the six-year ban imposed on Patel would prevent him from holding any position in the corporate sector and this was a warning to other directors.

In May 2015, R.K. Patel & Co. was founded and took over the ongoing grocery trade at South Square in Hampshire in south-east England. Between October 2015 and January 2019, Patel was the sole director of the company. The insolvency service found that all the returns that Patel had submitted to the tax authorities were false and the sales figures were suppressed.

R.K. When Patel & Sons (UK) Creditors joined Voluntary Liquidation, it was found that the government had to pay 34 345,000 to compensate for the losses incurred by filing false returns. Patel's disqualification, which will take effect on October 7, means that he will not be able to directly, indirectly promote, manage or even start a company without the permission of the court.