Milngavie Cyan Restaurant director banned for nine years for dodging tax

David Cowan, 53, was the sole director of Avenbrae Limited, the company behind the restaurant, which began trading on the town’s Stewart Street in August 2014.

However, Cowan did not register the company for VAT until a year later, in August 2015.

He then failed to ensure the company filed quarterly VAT returns. This caused HMRC to raise assessments on the company’s behalf, which were only part-paid.

In June 2017, an investigation uncovered that the company had been concealing VAT since August 2014 and requested immediate payment of the outstanding amount.

By January 2018, Cowan had placed Avenbrae Limited into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation. At that stage, the company owed HMRC £195,000 in VAT, which included fines for unpaid tax and VAT due for the final quarter of trading. In addition, the company owed other creditors almost £23,000.

In August 2019, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from David Cowan for nine years. Effective from August 28, he is now banned from directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.

Robert Clarke, Chief Investigator, said: “Any other directors who behave in this way should expect an investigation and a lengthy ban.”