A car dealer from Bury has been given a jail term for not declaring his true income or registering his business for VAT, after an HMRC investigation identified that some £113,000 was owing
At Manchester Crown Court Rashid Moughal was sentenced to 22 months jail suspended for two years and a 200-hour community work order, after pleading guilty to the fraudulent evasion of income tax and VAT on sales of second-hand vehicles.
The HMRC investigation into Moughal and his business centred on comparisons made between his self assessment returns, bank accounts and various auction house records.
These revealed that his sales had been understated and purchases suppressed to avoid having to register for VAT and to evade income tax.
Sandra Smith, assistant director, fraud investigation service, HMRC, said: ‘This was a deliberate attempt to defraud the public purse by Moughal. He had been buying and selling cars since 2009 but he only registered as a sole trader with HMRC in July 2011. His subsequent tax returns proved to be a web of lies.’
Moughal now faces a confiscation hearing to recover the criminal proceeds.
