Moortown takeaway owner jailed for fake tax claims

A takeaway owner has been jailed for lying about how much income he received from his tandoori business in Leeds.

Rownock Sekar Talukdar, 50, submitted false tax returns and claimed tax credits he was not entitled to, fraudulently claiming about £171,000.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said he was charged with fraudulent evasion of VAT and income tax and fraudulent claims for tax credits.

He admitted the offences and was jailed for 18 months at Leeds Crown Court.

The CPS said Talukda submitted the multiple fraudulent VAT returns between 2012 and 2018, fraudulent income tax returns from 2014 to 2018 and false tax credit applications from 2014 to 2018.

He submitted paperwork of his sales to his accountant, but did not give till receipts or evidence of card machine or online sales.

When tax investigators checked with takeaway delivery companies such as Just Eat and Hungry House, they found he was doing much more business than he claimed.

A forensic accountant was brought in to go over his accounts and it was then that charges were brought.

He admitted the charges at a hearing in March 2021 and was sentenced in Leeds on Thursday.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Maqsood Khan said: "Rownock Talukdar is a serial fraudster who submitted fake tax returns to HM Revenue and Customs year after year.

"He also gave false declarations of his income to the Department for Work and Pensions to continue to claim tax credits when his true income meant that he wasn't entitled to them.

"There are many demands on the public purse and many people who genuinely need the help of the state.

"Talukdar is not one of them. He is a cheat and now he is behind bars."

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