Director of century-old Scottish machinery firm banned after under-declaring VAT by more than £1.5 million

• David Smith submitted false VAT returns on behalf of long-established Scottish machinery firm Balgownie Limited across a three-year period
• In total, more than £1.5 million was undeclared to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) between 2019 and 2022
• Smith has been banned as a director for 11 years and the company was bought out of administration by another firm last year, with 15 jobs saved

The director of a century-old Scottish machinery firm which went into administration last year has been banned after failing to declare more than £1.5 million in VAT.

David Smith, 61, was the director of FB Realisations Limited, which was known for decades as Balgownie Limited.

However, for more than three years between 2019 and 2022, Smith…