The High Court has ordered U.S. Ltd to be wound up over unpaid tax debts, finding that a settlement it made with Revenue in 2009 was binding and that the company had not established substantial grounds to dispute the debt.
In a judgment delivered on 29 November 2012, Mr Justice Roderick Murphy appointed Jonathon Byrne, a certified accountant, as liquidator. The petition was brought by the Collector General, Gerard Harrahil, seeking to wind up the company as a creditor.
The petition relied on a written demand for €319,840.71 in unpaid corporation tax, PAYE/PRSI and interest. The judgment’s decision section records a payment of €1,339.65 after the demand. The court said the debt arose after the company failed to comply with a written settlement dated 16 January 2009. Under that settlement, the company offered €2,452,852 in full settlement of Revenue claims for tax undercharges, interest and penalties. The Revenue Commissioners approved the offer, and the court held that it was binding. It also found that some payments had been made under the settlement and later payment arrangements, but the arrangements were not honoured.
The company’s director, identified as S.G., alleged that Revenue had pressured the company into the settlement by withholding a C2 certificate and argued that the company was entitled to a €369,954 credit for unclaimed motor and telephone expenses. A company accountant supported the proposed credit in an affidavit. Revenue disputed both the alleged coercion and the credit, saying the company had not made the required amended returns or provided complete supporting documents.
The court accepted that expense claims had been raised informally before the petition was served. But it found that no return or amended return had been made for them and complete vouchers were not available. It concluded there were no substantial grounds for the claimed credit and said it did not need to decide whether the claim was genuine. The court also rejected the director’s account of coercion, finding no evidence of threats and describing the allegation as a late attempt to frustrate the winding-up petition.
The court held that the company was deemed unable to pay its debts under section 214(a) of the Companies Act 1963: a creditor’s written demand had remained unpaid for the statutory period. It ordered the company wound up. The judgment does not set out a separate costs order.