Jail sentence for Vat offences cut in half

A car dealer jailed for four years for failing to pay more than €220,000 in Vat has had his sentence cut to two years on appeal.

John Hughes, aged 56, who lived at Cula Rd, Bray, Co Wicklow, before moving to Nice, France, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to sample counts of failing to pay Vat on 119 second-hand vehicles between Jul 2003 and Feb 2006. Last March, he was sentenced to four years imprisonment by Judge Martin Nolan.

He had no previous convictions and the court heard he had re-paid the outstanding amount of €226,718, along with charges and penalties.