Three company directors of an Essex-based plastics manufacturing and packaging company have been disqualified for a total of 14 years for neglecting the company's tax affairs and failing to pay over more than £1.3m in tax to HMRC.

Shalam UK Ltd was set up in 2008 and went into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation in December 2011. An investigation by the Insolvency Service found that the directors failed to ensure that Shalam paid all its taxes during the three years it traded, despite the company records showing that tax of over £1.3m - much of which were deductions from employees' salaries - was due. The company only paid £10,300 to HMRC in respect of these taxes.

The Insolvency Service investigation also found that Shalam's three directors had allowed the transfer of £4.5m of assets to a connected company following its insolvency, to the detriment of creditors.

As a result, directors Steven Burrow and Yehuda Shalam both received six-year disqualifications, while the third director, Kevin Lammin, had a two-year ban imposed.

The directors accepted that Burrow caused - and Shalam allowed - plant, machinery and stock worth over £4.5m to be transferred to a company operating the same type of business from the same address and in which Shalam had an ultimate interest. Shalam UK received no consideration for this transfer which prejudiced other creditors owed over £2m.

Susan MacLeod, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: 'These actions not only deprived the taxpayer of money, but gave the company an unfair trading advantage over its competitors.'