Spongebob(ish) advice

[Bothered]

Hello all, I've been watching the forum for some time but not as yet been brave enough to register and post.

My ltd company was wound up three months ago after I failed to send in returns. My last accounts were made up to the end of 2013 and I paid the corporation tax as due. I was also making VAT returns and paying them and things were going fine.

However, like a lot of people here, things took a drastic turn for the worse, I ran out of work and had bills at home needing paying. 2 of my boys are disabled and my wife is unable to work after, lets say a very bad childhood. I won't bore you all with my sob story, but I got myself into all sorts of bother and ended up taking more than I should from the business to keep us afloat.

I didn't put in the accounts for last year and because I didn't send in a return to companies house, the company was struck off. I didn't fill in a form and notify anyone.

The company is now dissolved, and has been for a few months now, I hadn't made VAT returns for the whole of 2014 as I'd not been trading for most of it, however for the 1st quarter I traded and probably owe VAT from that period. They have automatically calculated a really high figure that I owe, which I calculate is about 7 times what the real number would be.

So they don't know that I owe anything, but I am very scared of them finding out that I do. Does anyone have an advice on what I should do with regard to the returns, and whether this would likely trigger some kind of investigation?

Thank you all for your help in advance, I feel awful about what I've done and have been all over the place in the last month trying to work out what to do next for my family. I am working again currently through another Ltd company and things are okay, I don't care what happens to me particularly because it was my own fault, only that I can keep them all going.

 

[bovine]

Stop worrying, the company has been dissolved. Its debts die with it.
The company doesnt exist, so there are no vat returns to be put in.

Your company has been spongebobbed without you doing anything. Move on and dont worry about the old company.

 

[Bothered]

Thanks Bovine, but doesn't the fact that I haven't told anyone matter?

 

[jackal999]

If the original Ltd Co has been dissolved and provided you haven't signed a PG for anything then all the debts of the Co died when Companies House dissolved the Ltd Co, including those to HMRC etc.

HMRC have the option to reinstate the Ltd Co and then appoint a Liquidator to go through everything including an investigation into your conduct and drawings.

That said, it is an exceptionally rare event, usually restricted to those where they already have evidence of wrong doing by a director and or the sums misappropriated are large and significant. It also costs them a fortune in money and time.

99% of the time, once they have evidence the Ltd Co. has officially gone, they update their records and cease everything thereafter.

They don't normally know the Ltd Co. has ceased until, you, the OR or an IP tell them officially. This is despite both Companies House and HMRC being crown agencies.

You can either ignore their correspondence or write to them and enclose a screen dump of the Companies House entry showing the status of the Ltd Co and inform them the matter is nothing to do with you personally.

I wouldn't worry about it to be honest with you and I would be inclined to ignore it TBH.

Good luck with your new venture.

J

 

[Bothered]

Thank you both. I didn't realise that it really was just it, finished.

I guess I can't believe that they would leave it all alone, just because it was dissolved.

I would like to understand what you meant by "Large" sums though......!

 

[jackal999]

I have known them take no action on sums below and around the £50k mark.

At the end of the day, it's a fluid thing based in numerous factors such as past history of the directors, the industry involved, the ability to recover anything, the costs of restoring the co to the register, the costs of them appointing the OR or an IP and so much more.

A commercial decision needs to be taken as spending £5-£10k getting nothing back but a directors ban is not going to go down well.

J

 

[Bothered]

Thanks Jackal, the maximum this would be for would be for 20k. And that really is the max, it's nearer 10k, and of course, they don't know because there were no accounts for that period.

I'm feeling better about this now, although the ethical part of it really does eat me up. Maybe if things go well for us now I can put that back somehow in the future.

Thank you so much

 

[jackal999]

Ethics is a state or mind. The law is something else entirely.

Forget about it but learn whatever lessons you need to from the experience and move on.

Here's my stance on the ethics of your situation.

Your wife and children come first and do everything you can LEGALLY to give them whatever you need to.

Your old Ltd Co is dead, so are the debts belonging to it. Forget it and concentrate on putting food on the table for your family and money in your pocket through your current venture. Life is to short to develop an ulcer worrying about the Old Ltd Co.

J

 

[Bothered]

You are a wise man Mr J. Thank you.