MR ZOUBIR HAMMOUDI

Disqualified from

2022-03-15

Date of birth on record

July 1970

Between 10 August 2018 and 06 October 2020 (the date of liquidation), Zoubir Hammoudi (“Mr Hammoudi”) failed to ensure that Sanohchi Ltd (“Sanohchi”) preserved, maintained, or, in the alternative, delivered up to the liquidator adequate records relating to its affairs. As a result of this failure, it has not been possible to determine: • Whether credits totalling £504,557 received into Sanohchi’s bank account represented its total sales in the period; • Whether the following debits from the bank account represented legitimate Sanohchi expenditure: i) Payments to non-connected parties totalling £245,216; ii) £139,526 of cash withdrawn; and iii) 28 cheque payments totalling £32,617; • Whether Sanohchi made a profit or a loss in the period; and • The balance of Mr Hammoudi’s director’s loan account. Mr Hammoudi failed to ensure Sanohchi complied with its statutory duty to register for Value Added Tax (VAT) from the relevant registration date, 30 November 2018. Once aware of the liability owed, Mr Hammoudi failed to ensure that Sanohchi met payment of the resulting loss of VAT revenue of, at least, £38,400, in that: • On 29 October 2019 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) received a VAT application on behalf of Sanohchi requesting registration for VAT from 31 October 2018; • On 07 November 2019, HMRC issued a letter to Sanohchi stating that it should have notified them no later than 30 November 2018 of its requirement to register for VAT; • Mr Hammoudi should have been aware of the requirement to register Sanohchi for VAT as he had previously been a director of other VAT registered companies; • In the absence of Sanohchi submitting any VAT returns, HMRC issued assessments totalling £38,400 for the VAT periods ending 12/19, 03/20 and 06/20; • In addition, because of the failure to notify them, HMRC issued a penalty to Sanohchi of £25,127; • Mr Hammoudi failed to ensure that Sanohchi complied with its statutory obligation to file VAT returns and consequently the true level of VAT owed by Sanohchi remains unknown; • Sanohchi failed to make any payments towards its VAT liabilities. Mr Hammoudi has claimed that approximately £90,000 of cash withdrawn from Sanohchi’s bank account was used to refurbish parts of the premises used by Sanohchi; and • On 06 October 2020, Sanohchi entered liquidation with total liabilities of £70,554 of which £68,833 was owed to HMRC.