A company director who used his food delivery business to make more than £150,000 in false tax claims over ten years has been sentenced
Billa Dhand from Southall, West London, was the director of Dysan Fresh Ltd, which delivered fruit and vegetables to be processed for the UK’s big supermarket chains.
Investigators from HMRC found Dhand had charged his customers VAT but failed to pass it on to HMRC. He created hundreds of false invoices between 2006 and 2016 to hide VAT receipts and reclaim VAT repayments totalling £153,764.
At Southwark Crown Court Dhand pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud and was given a seven-year jail sentence, suspended for two years, and was also ordered to do 250 hours of unpaid work.
On sentencing Dhand, Her Honour Judge Korner said: ‘This was an extremely serious offence. HMRC has to operate on trust that people will comply with the law and pay the tax owing. You failed to do so. It was a carefully planned and deliberate fraud.’
HMRC is seeking to recover Dhand’s criminal proceeds.
Report by Pat Sweet
