A director who bought unwanted items from charity shops for re-sale has been banned for six years after failing to pay almost £1.2m in taxes due on the company’s operations
Rajesh Voralia was the sole director of RTS Textile Recyclers Ltd, which was incorporated in September 2014.
The business bought and sold unwanted items collected from charity shops and operated out of premises in West Drayton, West London.
It went into administration in October 2017, and a year later went into liquidation.
A subsequent Insolvency Service investigation uncovered that Voralia had failed to ensure RTS Textile Recyclers complied with its tax obligations.
Enquiries revealed that VAT returns due from the end of 2014 to the middle of 2017 were either submitted late or not at all and when RTS Textile Recyclers entered into administration, the company owed almost £1.2m in unpaid taxes, including penalties.
According to the Insolvency Service’s analysis, more than £16.4m had passed through RTS Textile Recyclers’ bank account between March 2015 and December 2017, but less than £80,000 was paid to the tax authorities.
At the High Court earlier this month Voralia was given a disqualification order for six years, plus costs of almost £5,000.
Voralia attended the hearing, where he did not dispute that he had failed to ensure RTS Textile Recyclers complied with its statutory tax obligations.
Lawrence Zussman, deputy head of insolvent investigations for the Insolvency Service, said: ‘Rajesh Voralia failed to take his responsibilities as a director seriously and thought he could walk away from his company and its outstanding tax liabilities without consequences.
‘Thanks to our investigation, he has now been removed from the business environment for a substantial period. This ban should serve as a warning to other directors that if you do not pay correct taxes and comply with the law, you run the risk of being disqualified.’
