Robert Steele, has been jailed after faking invoices and bank statements, which he used to support figures on VAT returns for his company, Clip and Ping Ltd. Between September 2010 and March 2014 Steele made 14 false claims for VAT repayments totalling £264,134.
The HMRC investigation, which began as part of the South West VAT Fraud Repayment taskforce, revealed that Steele had used the proceeds of his fraud to fund an affluent lifestyle, including paying private school fees and renting luxury homes in Gloucestershire.
HMRC will pursue fraudsters and bring them to court for such offences. The fines and jail time for tax related fraud can be considerable. In this case the jury took just 35 minutes to find Steele, who represented himself at court, guilty of five counts of fraud.
Steele was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Gloucester Crown Court on 19 February 2016. He was also suspended from holding a company directorship for seven years.
VAT registered businesses must charge VAT on the selling price of any goods and services that are liable to VAT. This is known as ‘output tax’ (sales). VAT paid by the business on goods and services is known as ‘input tax’ (purchases). The difference between the output tax and input tax is usually paid to HMRC as a VAT payment. If a business has bought more than it has sold, i.e. the input tax is more than the output tax, VAT repayment can be claimed.
Taskforces bring together various HMRC compliance and enforcement teams for intensive bursts of activity targeted at specific sectors and locations where there is evidence of high risk of tax evasion and fraud. The teams visit traders to examine their records and carry out other investigations.
More than 140 taskforces have been launched since 2011 bringing in more than £404 million, protecting this money for public services.
Bedrock has VAT specialists who can help you ensure your business is compliant with HMRC regulations relating to VAT. We can also advise should you be subject to a VAT inspection. Get in touch today if you’d like to discuss how we could help you.
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