HMRC: Takeaways, convenience stores and vape shops issued penalties

More than 150 individuals and businesses have been named today (25 June) for deliberately defaulting on tax, with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) issuing penalties in each case.

Several are high street businesses such as takeaways, convenience stores and vape shops. In every case, those named deliberately failed to pay at least £25,000 in tax and did not make a full disclosure when HMRC began its investigation – a step that would have kept their details off the list.

The list covers civil penalties only and does not include criminal convictions for tax fraud. Details remain published for 12 months.

The full list of those named today can be found as a downloadable spreadsheet on GOV.UK

Kevin Hubbard, HMRC’s Director of Small Business and Individuals, said:

“Too many high streets have businesses that are undercutting their honest neighbours by failing to pay the tax they owe.

“That is unfair to compliant businesses and to the communities they serve, and we are determined to tackle it.

“Among those named are takeaways, convenience stores and other high street businesses from across the UK – a reminder that HMRC’s work to tackle non-compliance reaches into every part of the country.”

Notes

Adding to the list of deliberate defaulters is one of the many measures HMRC are using to tackle non-compliance on high streets. HMRC is also stepping up its wider enforcement activity.

HMRC will make more than 30,000 interventions in 2026-27 to tackle tax fraud and criminal activity on the high street. This includes:

deploying more staff to visit high street premises, targeting the full spectrum of tax risks and illegal activity associated with cash-intensive businesses
interventions against businesses involved in money laundering, and National Minimum Wage breaches
interventions targeting the sale of illicit goods such as vapes and tobacco
clamping down on rogue directors who repeatedly shut businesses and reopen elsewhere
tackling till fraud by targeting the providers and end-users of electronic tools to manipulate sales records to launder money or suppress sales.

In May 2026, the Home Office launched a new High Street Organised Crime Unit with £30 million of funding, bringing HMRC together with other government departments, Trading Standards, policing partners and the National Crime Agency (NCA).

At the 2025 Budget, the Chancellor announced a new team of 350 criminal investigators for HMRC to tackle evasion by small businesses. These investigators have been recruited and around half of their work is focused specifically on disrupting harmful high street businesses and the people behind them.