KERRY'S LARGEST Ford dealership was last night convicted of four charges relating to incorrect VAT returns and fined a total of €50,000 at the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee.

Judge Carroll Moran said the penalty imposed could not force the defendant out of business, but a severe view had to be taken.

The charges related to incorrect returns and underpayment of VAT, he noted.

Benners Garage, Mile Height, Killarney Road, Tralee, had pleaded guilty at an early stage, there were no previous convictions by it or its directors and it was now tax-compliant.

However, there had been a deliberate attempt to defraud the Revenue, the judge said. This was unfair on other people who were tax-compliant.

Tax inspector Noel Wall said a Revenue audit in April 2001 and a subsequent investigation had uncovered a parallel accounting system, alongside the car dealership's main computerised system.

This involved a ledger written in longhand and was a separate set of records relating to second-hand cars. VAT was not accounted for on these for the VAT periods between March/April 1999 and March/April 2000. The money received amounted to more than €90,000 and the VAT due exceeded €15,465, Mr Wall said.

All the money had been lodged into a bank account in a name other than that of the company, Mr Wall told prosecuting counsel Dominic McGinn.

The court also heard how nine Revenue officials were involved in a search of a private residence, an accountant's office and business premises. A large amount of records had been taken by the Revenue officials.

David Sutton SC, for the defendant, said VAT had been paid with penalties and this amounted to €34,133. The business profit up to end of September this year was €300,000, but there was a downward trend and he asked the judge to take into account the general downturn in the car industry.

The company was tax-compliant, Mr Sutton also said. It was a very established firm and was the county's first Ford dealership.