Car dealer jailed for not paying Vat

A car dealer has been jailed for four years after he failed to pay over €220,000 Vat on secondhand vehicles.

John Hughes, aged 55, has since repaid the tax of €226,718, which was due on 119 cars. He also offered his bail bond of €50,000 and an additional €20,000 from his share of the sale of a French site to go towards the fine and penalties that will be due.

The court heard that Hughes used the Vat number from a defunct company that he had worked in for eight months to allow for the vehicles to be imported from Britain. He sold on the vehicles and charged Vat on them but never returned that tax to Revenue.