The respondents appealed against imposition of assessments for the diversion of alcohol products from bonded warehouses without payment of duties. Pretence had been made of deliveries abroad, but the goods were later diverted. The company was insolvent even without the impositions, but sought to delay the winding up to resolve its appeal against the impositions.
Held: Where there was a substantial and properly disputed debt, winding up would be delayed. However this is not a disputed debt, because it was deemed to be due once the assessment was issued. Did the appeal disturb that position? This is an excise duty case not a customs case, and the Customs Code did not apply. The debt was not suspended by the appeal. On the facts it was impossible to conclude that any fraud had taken place other than at the offices of the applicants.
Mr Justice Lawrence Collins
[2002] EWHC 2458 (Ch), [2003] BTC 5021
Bailii
Finance Act 1994 12(3), Value Added Tax Act 1994 73(7A)
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Re Welsh Brick Industries Ltd CA 1946
In a disputed debt case a winding-up order had been made by the county court judge. Notwithstanding that the company had been given unconditional leave to defend the petitioner’s action in the King’s Bench Division for recovery of the debt, it was . .
Cited – Commissioners of Customs and Excise v Broomco (1984) Ltd (Formerly Anchor Foods Ltd) CA 17-Aug-2000
When an appeal is lodged in a VAT dispute, the discretion as to whether to require the appellant to lodge security for costs in the appeal, was a decision exclusively to be decided by the tribunal itself. A decision as to such security could not be . .
Cited by:
Cited – Greenalls Management Ltd v Customs and Excise HL 12-May-2005
Volumes of vodka were transferred from a secure warehouse to a carrier for export. They were diverted, and not exported and the Customs sought the unpaid duty from the warehouse. The Directive provided that duty was payable on the ‘release for . .
Cited – Re Autotech Design Ltd, HMRC v Autotech Design Ltd ChD 2006
Michael Briggs QC summarised the approach to be adopted by the court at the hearing of for the appointment of an interim liquidator pending the hearing of an insolvency petition brought by the Revenue: ‘Although the formulations of the approach to . .
Cited – Revenue and Customs v SED Essex Ltd ChD 14-Jun-2013
Liquidator confirmed despite VAT challege
The Revenue sought the winding up of the company for non-payment of substantial arrears of VAT. The revenue had declined to allow VAT input claims. The company said that the petition was wrong since the debt was genuinely disputed.
Held: The . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Customs and Excise, Insolvency
Updated: 06 December 2021; Ref: scu.178437