HRMC has withdrawn a winding-up petition filed against Asian grocery and meal delivery service HungryPanda after a dispute over a tax bill boiled over.
HungryPanda claimed it had “immediately reached out to HMRC to clarify and dispute” the matter, which centred on an allegedly unpaid import tax bill issued in July 2025.
“Despite our repeated attempts to communicate and even our willingness to make payment through the official link provided – which was not functioning correctly – we were unable to establish effective contact with HMRC,” a HungryPanda spokeswoman told The Grocer.
“It is deeply disappointing that HMRC proceeded to file a winding-up petition without engaging in any meaningful dialogue or resolution process.”
HungryPanda said it had paid the disputed amount in full after the filing was lodged with UK courts, “solely to expedite the withdrawal of the petition and prevent unnecessary disruption to our operations”.
“We wish to reassure our partners, customers and employees that HungryPanda remains in a strong financial position, continues to operate as normal across all global markets, and will pursue this matter further with HMRC to ensure that such administrative errors do not occur again,” the spokeswoman added.
While HMRC was unable to comment on the specifics of the case, the tax authority said it took a “supportive approach” to dealing with customers with tax debts.
“We only file winding-up petitions once we’ve exhausted all other options, in order to protect taxpayers’ money,” a HMRC spokesman said.
In July, HungryPanda won a £11.7m payout in the High Court after a company it acquired in Australia violated non-compete terms and withheld assets critical to its own operations.
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