Restaurateur who suppressed takings landed with ban

The boss of a Worthing restaurant has been banned by the courts for eight years after he suppressed the true amount of the business’ takings in tax returns.

Shafique Uddin, also known as Sofiq Uddin, was the director of Kazitula, which traded as Shafiques, a restaurant and takeaway on Goring Road in Worthing, West Sussex.

The company behind the restaurant went into liquidation in April 2017 and the insolvency triggered an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Investigators uncovered that for nearly seven years between April 2010 and January 2017, Uddin caused Kazitula to file inaccurate tax returns and the restaurant underdeclared and underpaid taxes in the region of £320,000.

On 14 October 2022 in the High Court of Justice, insolvency and companies court judge Mullen made an eight-year disqualification order against Shafique Uddin and said it was “impossible to avoid the conclusion that this was for personal gain”.

Effective from 4 November 2022, Uddin has been banned for eight years from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Lawrence Zussman, deputy head of company investigations at the Insolvency Service, said: “Considering that the suppression of the restaurant’s takings took place over seven years, it is clear that Shafique Uddin knowingly caused the company to renege on the taxes it owed.

“Much of the public service is funded by the correct amount of taxes being paid and that’s what makes Shafique Uddin’s misconduct all the more serious. The court recognised the severity of his actions and have removed Shafique Uddin from the corporate environment for a substantial amount of time.”

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