Takeaway boss fiddled taxman out of £70,000
A TAKEAWAY boss has avoided jail after he admitted evading more than £70,000 in VAT payments.
Irfan Khan, 38, dodged jail after he was found to have not paid the tax while he ran two kebab houses from the same premises on Wilmslow Road in Withington.
The total sum he had evaded came to £71,204.21 over a six-year period.
Manchester Crown Court heard that this was despite Khan receiving warnings from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs about his obligations.
At one stage, Khan, from Burnage, told the probation service he denied wrong doing and sought to blame his now deceased father, and his accountants. “You knew the responsibilities on you as a director,” Judge Michael Leeming said.
Khan avoided jail after a judge heard any prison sentence would impact his wife and five children, who rely on him.
Prosecutors said that the total amount evaded only took into account takings from online orders received via Just Eat and Hungry House.
The court heard because records of sales from walk-in and telephone customers were not found, investigators could only use the online orders where sales totals were logged.
Khan told police that his online orders represented about 40 per cent of his total takings, with the rest coming via walk-in and telephone customers, the court was told.
Prior to his arrest, officers from HMRC visited Khan’s premises and spoke to him about keeping records.
They conducted nine ‘test purchases,’ and found that on four of the occasions no records were kept, and the others weren’t accurate.
Defending, Rachel Faux said Khan accepted his guilt and described his behaviour as ‘wilful blindness.’
Ms Faux said Khan should have acted rather than ‘waiting to be told’ what to do by his accountant.
She said his offending had been ‘entirely unsophisticated’ and wasn’t planned.
The court was told Khan is a ‘handson, hard working’ parent now working as a delivery driver.
“I am sure you were financially motivated to act in the way you did,” Judge Leeming told Khan.
The judge passed a two-year suspended jail sentence, after hearing that Khan had no previous convictions and had expressed genuine remorse.
He was also ordered to carry out 220 hours of unpaid work, and pay £900 prosecution costs.
Khan, of Kingsway Avenue, Burnage, admitted two counts of fraudulently evading tax.