Customs Disputes

Excise duty is applicable to the sale or use of certain goods, such as alcohol, tobacco and energy. Where HMRC suspects excise duty evasion or fraud, it can take action civilly and criminally. 

When dealt with civilly, HMRC will raise an assessment for the amount of excise duty evaded and may also impose penalties. When pursued criminally, a taxpayer can face an unlimited fine, imprisonment for up to seven years, or both.

This is an area of particular focus for HMRC at the moment. Movement guarantees are essentially a security deposit required by HMRC and provided by hauliers of alcohol that can be used to cover any revenue loss from a particular transport or transports. 

It’s the responsibility of those engaging the haulier to ensure that a valid movement guarantee is confirmed in writing for every individual transport. Failure to do so can lead to HMRC raising assessments against the original supplier. 

We’re highly experienced in advising on compliance issues in relation to movement guarantees and the steps that need to be taken by suppliers when goods are being transported by third-party hauliers.

When seizing goods, HMRC or Border Force should provide the owner or person in control of the goods with a Notice of Seizure. Should you wish to recover your goods following seizure, there are generally two available options — condemnation proceedings and restoration. 

Condemnation proceedings are a way of challenging the legality of seizure. While these aren’t criminal proceedings, they’re dealt with by the Magistrates’ Court. 

Restoration is a request to HMRC or Border Force to use their discretion to return the seized goods, even where they’ve been legally seized.

Condemnation proceedings and restoration can be pursued together or individually. However, there are very strict timescales within which these processes must be started. It’s therefore important that you seek advice immediately following seizure to best protect your position.

HMRC and Border Force have powers of search, seizure and arrest — both with and without a warrant. 

Should you be arrested, our team has extensive experience of police station attendance and interviews under caution. We remain on standby to represent you in any such scenario. 

Should your arrest progress to a full criminal prosecution, we’re able to guide you through the entire process. Close relationships with some of the most revered criminal counsel and an array of expert witnesses enable us to offer you the best possible defence.

While we aren’t customs agents, we do have a number of such contacts if you require their assistance during the course of any instructions we receive from you. 

If you wish to challenge the legality of the seizure — for instance, if you believe that the goods or property were seized unlawfully by HMRC or Border Force — you must submit a Notice of Claim in writing within 30 days of the date of seizure. 

Failure to do so will mean that the seized goods or property will be automatically condemned as forfeit. You won’t be able to have these returned to you unless HMRC or Border Force exercise their discretion to return the seized goods or property voluntarily. Once the seized goods or property are considered forfeited, you may be responsible for paying any taxes and duties owed.

If you wish to seek restoration of the goods — regardless of whether you’re also challenging the legality of the seizure — there’s no prescribed timeframe within which you must do so. However, we would highly recommend that a written request for restoration is also made within 30 days of the date of seizure. 

If you were successful in condemnation proceedings — with the seizure having been found to be unlawful — the seized goods or property should be returned to you by Border Force or HMRC immediately and without further action. 

If you were successful in securing restoration, you’ll usually be required to pay a restoration fee — which can vary in amount, depending on the goods or property that were seized — as well as any taxes or duties that were due before release.

In either case, if HMRC or Border Force have disposed of the seized goods — which they’re permitted to do and is often the case with perishable goods — they’ll pay you a sum equivalent to the value of the seized goods or property.

If it’s necessary to proceed all the way to a hearing before the Magistrates’ Court and/or the Tax Tribunal to obtain the return of your goods or property, this can be a lengthy process. 

HMRC or Border Force have six months within which to commence condemnation proceedings if you decide to challenge the legality of the seizure. It’ll usually take a similar amount of time for them to make a decision on restoration and provide a conclusion on request for independent review if restoration is restored before you can then look to start Tax Tribunal proceedings. 

Once the Court or Tribunal has been notified of the proceedings, depending on the complexity and value of the case it can ordinarily take anywhere between six months and two years before a final hearing takes place. 

The Court or Tribunal will provide directions on which procedural steps must be taken during that time to progress the case effectively (for example, the exchange of evidence including witness statements).