A North Yorkshire bookseller who made over £320,000 of fraudulent VAT repayment claims has been sentenced following an investigation by HMRC
Francis Naylor, from Harrogate, was the sole director of The Bear Book Company Ltd and Woodlands Recycling Ltd. Naylor submitted a £177,301 VAT repayment claim for The Bear Book Company Ltd in December 2011 but, after checks were carried out by HMRC, this figure was amended to £1,826.
As a result of that investigation, HMRC also looked at Naylor’s claim for a VAT refund of £146,790 for Woodlands Recycling Ltd, but this too was rejected.
After entering an earlier guilty plea, Naylor was given a 15-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and banned from being a director for seven years, at York Crown Court. He must also pay costs of £2,500.
Diane Donnelly, assistant director in HMRC's criminal investigation department said: 'Naylor knew that he was breaking the law but he chose to overlook this to try to make what he wrongly assumed would be easy money, at the expense of the UK taxpayer. He has now paid a high price for his criminal activities.
'Tax fraud is not a victimless crime and is taken seriously by the courts. I urge anyone with information about people or businesses involved in such fraud to contact HMRC.'
