will court suspend the order

[hugh.j]

Received BR from HMRC for 11,000.00 I can afford to pay over about 3 years - will court suspend the order - no equity in house all other debts are secured - no credit cards and only 6 weeks mortgage arears - under arrangement to pay

[carlmcmullen]

I would suggest that if you can satisfy HMRC you can repay the debt in 3 years they are likley to accept it.

You have no equity so what would they gain from making you BR?

I would give them a call to dicuss.

Carl

[Cybus]

Have you just had a bankruptcy petition served on you by H M Revenue & Customs?

In order for it to have gone so far, they would have given you ample opportunity to address the situation. How has your relationship been with them? Have you kept them constantly informed or chosen to ignore them?

A debtor once said to me ...

"If you don't pay a supplier, they stop supplying. If you don't pay an employee, they walk out. If you don't pay your VAT or PAYE, what do H M Revenue & Customs do? They don't do anything"

He learned the hard way that that is not the case. H M Revenue & Customs suggested that PAYE and NIC had been deducted from salaries but it had not been paid to H M Revenue & Customs. VAT had been charged on services provided but again it not been paid over. So who was having the benefit of that money? The guy is now bankrupt.

[MelanieGiles]

I am afraid that I do not agree with Carl on this point. HMRC do not just pop up out of the blue with bankrutpcy petitions, they give ample warning as Cybus has already explained. They are an involuntary creditors ie they do not make a commercial decision whether to lend money, but expect that traders will register for tax purposes and put their returns in on time.

Have you actually submitted tax returns or is this amount an assessment, and how many years are they claiming for? Any decision to allow you to repay the debt in instalments will depend largely upon your conduct to date and how well you have kept them informed of your difficulties.

And it should perhaps be remembered that the bankruptcy Court is not an arena for deals or negotiation. If you want to try and make an offer of settlement, you should contact HMRC as soon as possible to see if they are amenable, as on the day of the hearing if the debt has not been paid, or the petition withdrawn, you are very likely to find yourself bankrupt.

Do you have other debts than HMRC? And are you still trading?

[hugh.j]

I sold a large percentage of the business and corporation tax, vat and paye are all up to date through new majority owners. Pd £5k to HMRC in November 2007 and agreed I would get back to them with an offer. I was unable to negotiate salary with new business owners and those negotiations are nearly at a conclusion - it is on this basis that I would like to open talks with HMRC. No other debts other than utilities and no other creditors. No equity in house so likliehood of HMRC gaining anything in BR is almost zero as I am a director I would almost certainly lose income

[MelanieGiles]

Speak to them with regard to an offer, camp out in their offices until you can find a decision maker, but do not leave it until the day of the Court hearing for the reasons I have suggested above. Could you borrow the money from a friend or relative in the short-term?