Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Scottish potato merchant jailed for VAT fraud

The consultation opens on August 19.
The consultation opens on August 19.

A wholesale potato merchant from Perthshire has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for VAT fraud.

Scott Coupland, 48, from Leadenflower Road, Crieff, was convicted at Perth Sherriff Court last month and sentenced earlier this week.

A director of W. D. R. Coupland (Produce) Limited, Mr Coupland submitted a string of false VAT returns to HMRC between March 2011 and November 2012.

When caught, the tattie merchant said that his actions were driven by a downturn in business, and that he was trying to broker a business deal in Nigeria.

HMRC said he was found guilty of falsely inflating his business expenses by 2,000% to claim £160,000 he was not entitled to.

The tax agency said investigators found Mr Coupland was using the VAT repayments to keep his ailing business afloat and also cover the costs of private school fees and his mortgage.

Assistant director of HMRC’s fraud investigation service, Cheryl Burr, said: “The VAT repayment system exists to support legitimate businesses, not as a bank to allow criminals access to ready cash. Coupland showed little regard to the honest taxpayers he was stealing from to fund his lifestyle and failing business.

“Our efforts are helping to create a level playing field for honest businesses to operate fairly. We have put a stop to this tax fraud, but the public’s help in fighting tax evasion is vital, and suspicious behaviour can be reported at gov.uk or by calling 0800 59 5000.”