E01096
EXCISE DUTY – seizure – tribunal's jurisdiction – tribunal's fact finding powers – challenge to grounds for seizure – own use - abuse of process? – no – appeal allowed.
MANCHESTER TRIBUNAL CENTRE
DAVID AND MANDY OWENS
Appellants
- and –
THE COMMISSIONERS OF
HER MAJESTY'S REVENUE AND CUSTOMS
Respondents
Tribunal: Richard Barlow (Chairman)
Susan Stott FCA CTA
Sitting in public in York on 10 January 2008.
The appellants in person.
Mr Nigel Clive of counsel instructed by the respondents' solicitor for the respondents.
"[The tribunal] satisfies itself that the primary facts upon which the commissioners have based their decisions is correct. The rules of the tribunal and procedures are designed to enable it to make a comprehensive fact-finding exercise in all appeals".
Pill LJ endorsed that as correct in paragraph 39.
"That tribunal may conclude, as a step in arriving at its decision that in all the circumstances Mr Weller should not be allowed to challenge the validity of the forfeiture. Though it is unlikely to do so if it was going to allow Mr Weller's appeal".
That last remark makes it clear that the tribunal can find the full facts, including those relating to the substantive merits of the appeal, even at the stage in its reasoning where it is considering whether the appeal can be allowed to proceed.
- The reason why UK law would not permit the issue of the correctness of the seizure to be considered by the tribunal when it should have been considered by the courts is not the literal interpretation of the legislation but the principles of procedural law known as res judicata and abuse of process.
- The owner of the goods can, because of the rights conferred by the European Convention on Human Rights, re-open the question of the seizure in the VAT and Duties Tribunal where the goods have been condemned by the deeming provision in paragraph 5 of Schedule 3 to the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (i.e. where the owner has not required the commissioners to begin condemnation proceedings within the month allowed) but that right will not apply where a Court has actually condemned the goods following a finding that they were not for own use.
"As it seems to me, for an importer to be completely shut out in the only tribunal before which he has in fact appeared from ventilating the matters that are deemed to have been decided against him because of paragraph 5 of Schedule 3 does not adequately enable him to assert his Convention rights". (Emphasis added).
The reference to the only tribunal before which he has appeared would encompass a case where there had been a notice of claim which has been abandoned.
Mr Owens said he smokes "baccy, sometimes cigarettes" later "maybe 40 cigarettes" per day "and maybe some tobacco". Later still Mr Owens said he smoked "40 cigarettes and "maybe, what a pouch of tobacco". Mr Owens then confirmed he smoked "40 cigarettes and less than a pouch of tobacco" on a normal day.
"Mrs Owens said she smokes a total of 15 roll-ups and tailor made cigarettes combined, on an average day. She said that Mr Owens smoked about the same, 15 to 20 per day as an estimate".
That statement by referring to "combined" in the case of Mrs Owens and "about the same" in the case of Mr Owens appears to suggest that Mrs Owens said that Mr Owens smoked 15 to 20 cigarettes a day as a combination of ready made and hand rolled cigarettes. What she actually said in interview was that Mr Owens smoked "Probably about the same as me. About 15 a day" but that answer was very clearly in the context of a discussion about ready made cigarettes and she said, later in the interview, that he smoked a lot of tobacco, meaning hand rolled tobacco and that was clearly in addition to such ready made cigarettes as he smoked.
MAN/07/8020