Tax-dodging chefs face dawn raids by Inland Revenue

Chefs and managers of catering businesses taking backhanders from food suppliers could be subject to dawn raids and be publicly named by the Inland Revenue in its quest to stamp out tax evasion in the catering industry.

The warning comes as a major investigation by the Revenue gets under way involving more than 50 suppliers, of which up to 30 are understood to be providing information about chefs who take bribes.

Andy Sharp, partner in Specialist Taxation Services and former group leader in the serious fraud branch of the Inland Revenue, believes that once the Revenue has broken into the closed world of backhanders in the food industry it is likely to get heavy-handed and make prosecutions if attempts are made to hide the assets.

"The Revenue have got hard evidence from suppliers and other parties and it is likely that they will make an example out of several well-known names or businesses in the catering industry," he said.

The amounts paid by suppliers are believed to exceed tens of thousands of pounds per week, and the potential yield to the Revenue from both suppliers and chefs is estimated to exceed £100m a year.

A spokesman from the Inland Revenue said that, although quite rare, dawn raids and prosecutions could be expected if information was not forthcoming.

"We have the power to raid companies where evidence is being hidden, but this doesn't happen in most cases," he said.

by Christina Golding

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 26 September - 2 October 2002