Wolverhampton cash and carry boss banned for eight years

A WOLVERHAMPTON-based boss of a business was banned for eight years after consistently failing to provide evidence that excise duty owed on alcohol had been paid.

Rajinder Singh Bains, 46, was appointed sole director of Midland Wines (UK) Ltd in 2013.

Bains caused the company to trade in a manner which led to the tax authorities suffering excise duty losses.

With effect from September 3, 2019, the Asian-origin top executive cannot, without the permission of the court, be involved in the formation, promotion or management of a company, directly or indirectly, a government release said last week.

Over an 18-month period between July 2014 and January 2016, HMRC assessed that Midland Wines owed almost £260,000 in excise duty.

Bains resigned as a director in 2016 before the company entered creditors voluntary liquidation in the same year.

The appointed liquidators filed a report with the insolvency service highlighting the conduct of Bains while he was the director and the fact that the company had failed to pay the correct amount of tax.

In August 2019, the secretary of state accepted an eight-year disqualification undertaking from Bains.

Sue Macleod, Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, said: “The length of the disqualification of Rajinder Singh Bains sends a clear message to the business community that failure to pay excise duty that is rightfully owed is serious misconduct and will not be tolerated.”

The company was a wholesaler of wine, food and tobacco, supplying retailers and members of the public.