Raymond Francis Thompson v Commissioners of Customs and Excise

Facts

Mr Raymond Francis Thompson was stopped by Customs officers at Poole on 14 November 2000 as he disembarked from the boat from Cherbourg with his vehicle. His car carried excise goods well above the indicative levels in the Excise Duties (Personal Reliefs) Order 1992: 58.6 litres of spirits, 6.5 litres of spirits or fortified wine, 3,200 cigarettes, 1,200 grams of hand-rolling tobacco, 120 litres of beer, 221.5 litres of still wine and 21.75 litres of sparkling wine. He was told he had to satisfy the officers that the goods were for his own use and, with his agreement, was interviewed on tape. The interview disclosed a series of day trips to France between June and November 2000 through Poole, Portsmouth and Plymouth, and the officers disbelieved his explanations — property-hunting in Cherbourg, stocking up for Christmas, gifts to his wife and daughters and his stated rates of personal consumption. They told him in terms that he was a bootlegger; he denied it. The goods and the vehicle were seized, and condemnation proceedings followed separately in the magistrates' court. On 22 February 2001 Mr Martin Hulbert, as reviewing officer, decided not to restore the car or the goods. Mr Thompson appealed to the VAT and Duties Tribunal, his notice of appeal being received on 2 April 2001.