Hoverspeed Limited, Alan Charles Andrews, Pauline Andrews, Lynne Andrews, George Wilkinson v Commissioners of Customs and Excise: QBD 31 Jul 2002

The applicants operated ferries between Britain and France. Their customers were being stopped by Customs and Excise, and they sought to challenge the validity of the Order and non specific ways of selecting vehicles to be stopped.
Held: The Order was incompatible with the Directive insofar as it put upon the consumer the burden of establishing that the goods being imported were for personal use. The Order and its implementation interfered with free trade. The Directive allowed imposition of additional duties only where articles were for commercial use. The holding of goods in excess of the level indicated was merely an indicator, and could not be used as presumptive of commercial use. Customs had to act proportionately when deciding to confiscate or return vehicles.

Judges:

Lord Justice Brooke, Mr Justice Bell

Citations:

Times 05-Aug-2002, [2002] EWHC 1630 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Excise Duty (Personal Reliefs) Order 1992 (SI 1992 No 3155), Council Directive 92/12/EC (OJ 1992 L76/1), EC Treaty 28

Cited by:

CitedRegina (Hoverspeed Limited and others) v Commissioners of Customs and Excise CA 10-Dec-2002
Passengers leaving a ferry had been stopped by Customs. The vehicle was searched and a quantity of alcohol and tobacco found, which they believed not to be for personal consumption. The car and imports had been forfeited. The court had said that the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Customs and Excise, European

Updated: 06 June 2022; Ref: scu.174433