Clothing director banned over unpaid tax

Surinder Singh, the director of a women’s clothing manufacturer, Lady Fashion, has been banned from acting as a company director for a total of six years, after failing to pay a tax bill of £98,000.

The company was incorporated in September 2017, but entered into compulsory liquidation in July 2019 after failing to pay the tax bill it had accumulated since the previous April.

Some £180,000 in cash was found to have been withdrawn from the company accounts between November 2017 and March 2019, with Singh unable to explain the reasons to the appointed liquidator, the Official Receiver.

Robert Clarke, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Surinder Singh tried to cloak his actions through a lack of records and attempted to gain an unfair competitive advantage by not paying the tax due.

“Directors have a clear obligation to make sure they maintain full and accurate records for their business, and we will take robust action against those who fail to maintain these required standards, as this case shows.”

Singh did not dispute that he failed to ensure the proper maintenance or preservation of accounting records and that the company traded to the detriment of tax authorities.

As a result, the director signed the undertaking on 1 December, and the ban commenced on 22 December.