THE former boss of a Renfrewshire takeaway has been handed a nine-year ban from running a business after hiding his firm’s tax liabilities.

Raja Tandoori Limited was incorporated in January 2010, with Kulwant Singh Lally registered as company director.

From February 2013, it traded as a takeaway from premises in Old Sneddon Street, Paisley, but it was petitioned to be wound-up in July 2018.

A few months later, liquidators were appointed to formally wind-up the company.

The compulsory liquidation brought Raja Tandoori to the attention of the Insolvency Service, who conducted investigations into Mr Lally’s conduct.

Investigators discovered that the 58-year-old Paisley man claimed to have incorporated the company to protect the trading name. Raja Tandoori, however, was used as a vehicle for trading but failed to register with the tax authorities.

This meant that, for five years between 2013 and 2018, the firm failed to pay any tax, resulting in the authorities claiming backdated payments and a fine totalling £134,000.

Mr Lally is now banned from being a company director until 2029.

Rob Clarke, chief investigator for the Insolvency Service, told The Gazette: "Company directors have a legal responsibility to ensure their companies pay the correct amount of tax but Kulwant Lally clearly failed to do this for as long as the takeaway was trading.

"Nine years is a substantial ban, removing Kulwant Lally from the corporate arena, and should serve as a warning to those directors who think they can renege themselves of their duties."

The takeaway business is now run by Jaspreet Singh, who told The Gazette he has no connection to Mr Lally.

Read all the latest from Renfrewshire and beyond

******************

Scotland is in lockdown. Shops are closing and newspaper sales are falling fast. We're not exaggerating when we say the future of local newspapers and the vital service we have provided for many years is under threat.

Please consider supporting The Gazette in whatever way you can - by paying just 90p for a copy of the newspaper when you're shopping for essential supplies for yourself and others or by subscribing to our e-edition here.