The Ministry of Economic Affairs (the Ministry) has accepted a declaration of denial from the director of a company engaged in the sale of vehicles and installations.
Company manager disqualification commitment.
Undertaking was received for six years from Roy Harold Davis (52) of Rathmoyle Park, Keady, Armagh in respect of his conduct as a director of AP Vehicle and Plant Equipment Ltd (“the Company”).
The company was involved in vehicle and plant sales with a registered office at A1 Carrowreagh Road, Dundonald, Belfast, BT16 1QT. The Company went into liquidation on 5 December 2019 with an estimated shortfall in creditors of £478,695.11. A total of £100 was due as share capital, resulting in an estimated member deficit of £478,795.11.
The Department accepted Roy Harold Davis’ disqualification pledge on March 31, 2023 based on the following inappropriate conduct that was not contested solely for the purposes of the disqualification proceeding:
Causing and allowing the company to submit inaccurate VAT returns totaling £262,677 and a further £88,296 in assessments collected by HMRC resulting in a considerable loss of funds to the Crown from 2017/18. This represented 73% of the company’s total restated deficit in respect of VAT due to be properly paid to the Crown. Failure to comply with the duties of filing accurate VAT returns, resulting in the large debt attributable to HMRC. He continued to manage the Company without regard to his obligations as a director in terms of VAT compliance. This resulted in the company having more money than it should have had to fund the continuation of trading.
The department has accepted eighteen disqualification pledges and the court has issued one disqualification order in the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2022.
Notes to editors:
Insolvency practitioners acting as voluntary liquidators, receivers and administrators have a duty to report inappropriate behavior to the Insolvency Service of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The purpose of the department is to initiate disqualification proceedings against directors of bankrupt companies who have abused the privilege of limited liability status through negligence, incompetence or lack of commercial sincerity. The legislation in the Company Directors Disqualification (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 (“the 2002 Order”) is intended to protect the public and the trading community, but its operation must not interfere with genuine entrepreneurial spirit. In cases where an individual is subject to a court-issued disqualification order or a disqualification promise accepted by the Department, that individual may not be a director of a company, act as a recipient of a company’s property, or in any way, whether or not be directly or indirectly involved in or participate in the promotion, establishment or management of any business, unless authorized by the Supreme Court. A disqualified person cannot be allowed to act as an insolvency practitioner. Article 9 of the 2002 Decree provides that if a director is found unfit, he must be disqualified for a minimum period of two years and a maximum of fifteen years. The courts have decided that the degree of severity of inappropriate behavior can fall into three brackets, with the top bracket of periods of more than ten years being reserved for particularly serious cases, six to ten years being reserved for cases that do not merit the top bracket and two to five years for cases where, while disqualification is mandatory, the matter is less serious. The 2002 order also allows directors, with the agreement of the Department, to avoid the need for a court hearing by offering an acceptable disqualification pledge. This has exactly the same legal effect as a disqualification order issued by the court, and will usually include a schedule identifying the director’s inappropriate conduct. The consequences of violating a disqualification commitment are the same as those of violating a disqualification order. If someone violates a disqualification order or violates their disqualification obligation, they may be committing a criminal offense and could face up to two years in prison or a fine, or both. Any person with information suggesting that a disqualified person has acted in breach of this provision should contact the Insolvency Service Directors Disqualification Unit on 028 90 548582. The period of disqualification will commence at the end of 21 days from the day the disqualification commitment was accepted. by the department. For media enquiries, please contact the Department for the Economy Press Office at: pressoffice@economy-ni.gov.uk To keep up to date with Department news, follow us on the following social media channels: The Executive Information Service has an out hour service only for media inquiries between 6:00 PM and 8:00 AM Monday to Friday and on weekends and holidays. The press officer on duty can be reached on 028 9037 8110.
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