I would go along with Tony on the grounds of the company being a separate legal entity, however it is possible for hmrc to get the company reinstated, in which case if there are any assets that have not been disposed of correctly, or illegal dividends have been taken or even directors loans being repaid as a preferable creditor then there is the potential for problems. I have no idea how often any of this occurs though.
The process for striking off involves notifying all creditors, including contingent and potential creditors, of the impending company closure. This clearly includes HMRC, so if this has not happened and the company has been struck off then HMRC can pursue the directors.
I'm not an Insolvency Practitioner but in a similar case to this with a client recently, the IP indicated to me that going this route was a gamble as HMRC can (and do) take action to recover funds if worthwhile.
It really all depends on the circumstances of the company - if it is the first year of trading, no assets etc, then will HMRC go to the lengths of reinstating a company just so they can dissolve it via liduidation, spend alot of money doing this, to get nothing back?
If a company has been trading for many years, then this may be different, but it does depend of each co as a seperate item.
