It is understood that Mr Chappell has been given a court date of April 27 in Manchester to respond to the Insolvency Service’s requests for information, reports the Telegraph.
However, a source close to Mr Chappell claims that the former bankrupt racing driver cannot provide the information required because his financial documents and computers were seized in a raid by HM Revenue and Customs last year.
The source added that Mr Chappell had already informed the Insolvency Service that the documents were with another government agency.
Mr Chappell, who bought BHS for £1 and oversaw its collapse 13 months later, was arrested by tax officers in November last year amid claims that his investment vehicle, Swiss Rock, owed the Revenue more than £500,000 in unpaid corporation tax and VAT.
The Insolvency Service told Sky News, which first reported the court hearing, that it “has powers, on behalf of the Secretary of State, to apply to court to enforce co-operation with its investigations”.
In February Sarah Albon, the boss of the agency, said that the investigation into BHS’s collapse could stretch to 2019 and that it had so far received 37 million records.
Mr Chappell is also still under investigation by the Pensions Regulator, which is thought to be seeking £17m.
In February, Sir Philip Green, who sold BHS to Mr Chappell, agreed a £363m cash settlement into BHS’s pension fund, which ended the threat of enforcement action.
