Roy Harold Davis, the director of a company involved in vehicle and plant sales in Northern Ireland, has been banned by the Department for the Economy.

Davis, who was the sole director of AP Vehicle and Plant Equipment Ltd, was handed a six-year disqualification following his failure to submit accurate VAT returns worth over £260,000.

Based in Belfast, the company was incorporated on 20 February 2015. However, it went into liquidation on 5 December 2019 with an estimated loss of £478,695.11.

Following an investigation, Davis was found to have submitted inaccurate VAT returns totalling £262,677.

In addition, the company owed £88,296 for assessments raised by HMRC, which resulted in a loss of revenue from 2017/18.

In total, this represented 73% of the company’s overall outstanding VAT bill.

In a statement, the Department for the Economy said: ‘Davis continually failed to comply with duties in terms of filing accurate VAT returns, which resulted in the large debt falling due to HMRC.

‘He continued to run the company without any regard to his obligations as a director in terms of compliance with the VAT regime. This resulted in the company having more money than it ought to have had available to fund its continued trading.’

Davis was banned as a director on 31 March 2023, which will prevent him from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Since 1 April 2022, the Department has issued 18 director bans and the court has made one disqualification order. It has been contacted for comment.