In HMRC v M G Perfect [2022] EWCA Civ 330 (15 March 2022) the Court of Appeal (CA) held that references from UK courts and tribunals made before the end of 2020 are binding on and in the UK even if handed down in 2021 or later.
The case concerned unpaid excise duty. Mr Perfect was a lorry driver who had been stopped in Dover whilst driving a lorry carrying 26 pallets or beer on which duty had not been paid. The matter in dispute was essentially whether Mr Perfect was liable to pay the duty himself even if he was unaware that duty had not been paid.
The dispute over the excise duty had previously been referred to the CJEU in 2019 before the Brexit implementation period ended on 31 December 2020. However the judgment of the CJEU was only delivered in June 2021 after the implementation...
