Global Foods Limited v The Commissioners for HMRC

Facts

The appellant, Global Foods Limited, traded from South Wales as a wholesaler of food and drink to small supermarkets. It had traded since 1988, employed 90 staff, operated a 60,000 square foot warehouse and had an annual turnover of about £45 million, roughly one third of it in alcohol, taking in some 300 consignments of alcoholic drinks a week. Following a routine visit by officers of HM Customs & Excise on 3 March 2004, seven consignments of beer and one of whisky were detained and formally seized on 14 October 2004, on the footing that duty had not been paid: the supplier named on one invoice, Buntingford Supermarkets, was thought to be a missing trader, and the price of a consignment of "Bud" was thought suspiciously low. The appellant, having taken advice, did not challenge the legality of the seizure in the Magistrates' Court, on the basis that this would double its costs. On a review letter of 15 April 2005 Charles Dunn restored three consignments of beer; the appellant later abandoned its claim to the whisky. Following a direction of the VAT and Duties Tribunal after a hearing in September 2007, a further review was conducted by Officer Frances Manley, whose letter of 12 December 2007 refused restoration of the remaining four consignments — Stella, Kestrel, Kronenberg and "Bud". That refusal was appealed.