The director of a company in Oldham has been handed a disqualification for a total of six years, meaning that he is unable to take part in the management, formation or promotion of a company or limited liability partnership until the order has been served.

Muhammed Farooq Saeed, the sole director of SFS (Oldham) Limited, ran the fuel business out of a petrol station in Oldham, Greater Manchester. However, Mr. Saeed was found to sell diesel which had not beared duty on the full rate throughout the period between 26 March 2013 and 13 March two years later. This caused SFS (Oldham) Limited to suppress the sales of illicit fuel and after an assessment completed by HMRC, the company was handed a penalty which amounted to £58,344.

However, the company went into liquidation on 5 February 2016, three years after the business’ formation, with an estimated debt of £61,370 to creditors. Of this sum, £53,678 was owed to taxpayers.

Commenting on the case, Aldona O’Hara, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:

“Company directors have a duty to ensure businesses meet their legal obligations, including paying taxes.

Neglect of tax affairs is not a victimless action as it deprives the taxpayer of the funds needed to operate public services.”

As a result of the disqualification, Mr. Saeed cannot act as the director of a company until the disqualification order has been served. He is also bound to a number of other restrictions; all of which can be found on the Government website.