HMRC Name and Shame Evington Take-Away
MC Evington Limited, trading from 152b Evington Road (sometimes trading as Maryland Chicken) has been fined £158,466 after defaulting on £192,081 in tax between March 2019 and May 2023. The business traded in take-away food shops and mobile food stands. The company is now registered as liquidated and no longer active in normal business trading.
The owner and sole company director, Dominic Dessa operated out of Yew Tree Business Hub, 153, Yew Tree Lane, Yardley, Birmingham.
To have your details published on the His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) list a business needs to be assessed as having deliberately defaulted on tax and owe more than £25,000 in charges. Failures or errors that have occurred over a number of years can easily exceed this.
A deliberate tax defaulter is person or business who has come under investigation by HMRC and charged a penalty for either deliberate errors in their tax returns or a deliberate failure to notify a liability to tax.
HMRC publishes details of those who have deliberately evaded taxes, including their names, addresses, and the nature of their defaults. This list is updated regularly and includes those who owe significant tax amounts or have incurred hefty penalties due to their fraudulent activities. However, it is said the list is not just punitive in nature but is also aimed at being a public record, informing the public and protecting the tax system’s integrity.
HMRC introduced this naming and shaming policy in 2009 to dissuade people from becoming deliberate defaulters and to encourage those that do deliberately default to come forward and make a voluntary disclosure, which might dissuade HMRC from publishing their details.
Taxpayers can also avoid naming and shaming, even when an enquiry has opened and concluded there has been deliberate action leading to a failure to meet their tax liabilities, if they are deemed to qualify for the maximum penalty reduction for assisting HMRC during the investigation. Offshore matters may not qualify.
Once HMRC has made the decision to publish the taxpayer’s details it must advise them to give them the opportunity to put forward any mitigating reason why they feel their details should not be published.
Many people decide during the settlement of an investigation not to dispute HMRC’s opinion that their action, which resulted in a tax liability, was deliberate, in the mistaken belief that the worst that can happen is that their name appears on the HMRC website as a deliberate defaulter for a maximum period of one year.
However, this may not be case, and they can also find themselves entering the managing serious defaulter (MSD) program. This regime involves HMRC closely monitoring tax affairs for up to five years, and in the case of a limited company, the monitoring may also extend to the directors’ personal affairs including closer scrutiny of the content of their tax returns. It can also involve unannounced visits to business premises to check business records.
The MSD regime can be invasive by nature, resulting in a longer period of HMRC scrutiny. This is something that a taxpayer assessed as being in default needs to consider carefully before accepting HMRC’s assessment that their behaviour was deliberate.
The name and shame policy is not limited to direct tax evasion but also targets promoters of tax avoidance schemes. Under the Finance Act 2022, HMRC has enhanced powers to name not just the companies involved in avoidance schemes but also the individuals promoting these schemes. This is part of a broader government strategy to combat tax avoidance more effectively.
The naming and shaming approach has received mixed reactions. While it is seen as an effective deterrent, there are concerns about the lack of due process and the potential for reputational damage that may not be proportional to the offence. Critics argue that the process could be seen as punitive beyond the financial penalties imposed, affecting the businesses’ operations long after fines have been paid.
HMRC’s name and shame policy is a crucial part of the UK’s strategy to ensure tax compliance and deter tax evasion and avoidance. By publicly listing defaulters, HMRC aims to reinforce the seriousness of these offences and encourage a culture of compliance. However, the approach continues to evolve, reflecting the balance between enforcement and fairness in the tax system.
Traders should note the high number of restaurants and take-away businesses included on the list as well as small businesses such as tax accountants and hairdressers.
Sources:
1 Mack, T (2026) Full list of Leicestershire people and businesses named by HMRC for evading tax-They have been named and shamed by the government, Leicester Mercury, 2nd January 2026
2 https://www.protaxaccountant.co.uk/post/hmrc-name-and-shame
3 https://www.rsmuk.com/insights/tax-voice/deliberate-by-default
