S.T.M Adam Wierzbicki v The Commissioners for HMRC

Facts

The appellant, referred to in the decision as AW, is a haulier whose MAN tractor unit and Krone trailer were stopped at Cairnryan in Scotland on 12 June 2024, on their way to Kingston upon Hull. The vehicle had travelled from the Netherlands via Rosslare in the Republic of Ireland, where the trailer had been held for a time. A search found pallets of BBQ charcoal and some tyres at the front of the trailer, with 26 pallets of beer behind them. There was no evidence that duty had been paid on the alcohol, so HMRC seized the beer, the vehicle and the trailer. Documents about the beer were later provided to HMRC: a CMR, an invoice, an import declaration and evidence of a payment of £29,315. HMRC could not establish that these documents related to the beer actually found in the trailer, and the Border Force Revenue Fraud Detection Team was also unable to verify the beer's duty status. On 8 July 2024 HMRC offered to restore the vehicle and trailer for £6,845. AW asked for a review. He said he was an innocent haulier who had supplied all the documentation available to him, that the beer had already been detained by Irish Customs, and that the charge together with his other costs exceeded the value of the vehicle and trailer and would cause financial hardship. He asked for restoration for a nominal fee. The review officer upheld the decision on 27 September 2024, and AW appealed to the First-tier Tribunal. AW had not challenged the legality of the seizure by a notice of claim under Schedule 3 to the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, so the goods, vehicle and trailer were deemed condemned as forfeited.