Fashion Designer Avoids Disqualification Following £2.5M HMRC Allegation

“… Put simply and without being over dramatic, being disqualified would have effectively cut me off at the legs such would have been the colossal impact. Throughout the entirety of my adult life, I have been engaged in the fashion industry not only in the UK, but abroad to include the USA and China. I have worked with and continue to work with various designer brands, clothing stores and organizations worth in the hundreds of millions of pounds. Had I been disqualified the devastating impact this would have had on my career, ability to work and most importantly my reputation cannot be understated. It would have been tantamount to professional suicide.

Throughout my entire working life, I have acted with integrity, honesty and transparency. Therefore, the prospect of being disqualified was particularly difficult to grasp when I had done nothing wrong. As the allegations being pursued against me originated from a HMRC investigation into my company, it appeared that the likelihood of me avoiding disqualification was extremely slim. However, I did not want to simply lay down, wanted to defend my position and explain why HMRC’s allegations did not stand up to scrutiny.

I made online enquiries and subsequently reached out to Gulshan who I had no previous dealings with. However, after speaking with him, I was quickly put at ease attributable to his knowledge, experience and past successes when dealing with such matters. I then proceeded to retain Gulshan to assist me in defending my position. Gulshan then went about putting together a clear plan of action of how to deal with matters to include drafting detailed submissions and meeting with the Insolvency Service. These crucial steps undertaken by Gulshan resulted in the Insolvency Service agreeing that despite the allegations raised by HMRC as to my conduct, it was not in the public interest for me to be disqualified and would therefore terminate their investigation.

The fear, worry and concern that I had at the outset of this process has now completely disappeared. I feared that I would have to leave the Fashion Industry, an industry I very much love and enjoy, but attributable to Gulshan’s efforts, I can carry on doing what I most enjoy.

Gulshan, thank you a million times over!…”

The Allegation – The Company Did Not Pay the Correct Amount of HMRC Liabilities on the Importation of Goods Into the UK in the Sum of at Least £2.5M

The Insolvency Service (‘IS’) had been provided with information from HMRC that my company had failed to pay substantial liabilities in relation to the importation of clothing products into the UK. This resulted in a penalty in the region of £2.5m being raised and which is why I had no choice, but to place my company into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation.

The Outcome

With the assistance of Gulshan, I was able to set out, explain with supporting documents and convince the IS that HMRC had acted incorrectly, the basis of their investigation into my company was wrong and that the penalty raised in the sum of £2.5m and their justification for doing so was flawed and not based on correct data. The process to convince the IS took time, considerable effort and passion which brought about the positive outcome.

“… I am a highly respected professional, fashion designer and individual within the fashion industry. Image and reputation is everything. Disqualification would have ended me…”

Working with Gulshan and pushing the IS to not only understand, but to then terminate their investigation altogether is not only an achievement, but a course of action that has protected the future of not only me, but my family also. Thank you Gulshan!