Massala Exotic Limited & Anor v The Commissioners for HMRC

Facts

Massala Exotic Limited ran an Indian restaurant from 2008 until January 2020. Throughout that time Mr Khosru Miah was its director. HMRC concluded that the company had under-declared its takings for the VAT periods 09/13 to 09/19 and raised a best judgment assessment of £280,903. HMRC also found that the inaccuracy was deliberate and imposed a company penalty of 63% of the VAT assessed, £176,966.37. They then made Mr Miah liable for that penalty under a personal liability notice. The assessment relied on merchant acquirer data for a single card machine. The appellants said there had been three machines, two of them lent to companies run by Mr Miah's relatives. On their case, the receipts paid into a Lloyds account in the company's name had been passed on to those companies. The First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) heard the case on 12 January 2026. Mr Miah gave no evidence and did not attend. In a decision released on 29 January 2026, the tribunal rejected the appellants' account and dismissed all three appeals, against the assessment, the company penalty and the personal liability notice. The FTT refused permission to appeal on 30 April 2026. The Upper Tribunal refused permission on the papers on 27 July 2026. Mr Miah renewed his application at an oral hearing on three grounds, some of them different from those advanced before.