Duty and Customs Column

It has for some time been obvious that there are serious frictions between the procedure for appeals against the seizure of goods by Customs which lead to condemnation proceedings in the magistrates courts and the appeals to the VAT and Duties Tribunals which raise questions about the restoration of goods so seized. A number of appeals have reached the higher courts and the decisions which have been given have not invariably had a thread of consistency running through them. What is plain is that judges at High Court level and above have found the points raised difficult and the manner in which they have sought to deal with these points has underscored the awkwardness of the legislation....