Bosses of failed payroll company banned for failure to pay tax
Bosses of a Liverpool-based payroll company have been banned from acting as directors after it went into liquidation, owing £395,274 in tax.
Alan Verinder, a chartered accountant and the managing director of V&AES Ltd was disqualified for four-and-a half-years, effective from October 31, 2017.
Disqualification undertakings were also accepted from Ross Verinder, Graham Rummens and Carol Verinder who were also directors of the company, for allowing Alan Verinder to increase the debt he owed to the company when the company was unable to pay its debts owed to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Ross Verinder, a licensed financial advisor, and Graham Rummens, a chartered certified accountant, have been disqualified for a period of three years each which will take effect on November 24, 2017.
Carol Verinder has been disqualified for two years with effect from October 31, 2017.
V&AES operated as a payroll company for subcontractors working for third party companies.
As such it was paid gross sums in bulk by third party companies and would be responsible for deducting PAYE from their employees and paying it to HMRC on their behalf.
It had minimal tax liabilities in respect of its own employees but significant amounts due in respect of the sub contractors.
The Insolvency Service’s investigation found that from September 1, 2012, when V&AES was unable to pay its debts to HMRC as and when due until February 13, 2014, when the company went into liquidation, Alan Verinder caused the company to make payments to directors and connected businesses of £406,240 and therefore breached his duty to act in the best interests of the company by increasing his borrowings from the company from £22,125 to £163,091.
During this time debts owed to HMRC increased from £53,974 to £395,274.
As a result, the payments to the directors and connected businesses were at the risk of HMRC.
In June, 2016 Alan Verinder paid £210,000 to the liquidator of V&AES in full and final settlement of his director’s loan account and the payments that had been made to connected businesses.
Robert Clarke, head of insolvent investigations North at the Insolvency Service, said: “Directors who put their own personal financial interests above those of creditors damage confidence in doing business and are corrosive to the health of the local economy.
“These bans should serve as a warning to other directors tempted to help themselves first; you have a duty to your creditors and if you neglect this duty you could be investigated by the Insolvency Service and lose the privilege of limited liability trading.”
