Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (appellant) -v- Perfect (respondent)

Wednesday 23 February 2022

This is a second appeal.  HMRC  appeal the decision of Upper Tribunal Judges Mrs Justice Philippa Whipple and Judge Ashley Greenbank dated 8 December 2017. The UT dismissed HMRC’s appeal against a decision of the FTT, allowing the appeals of the Respondent, Mr Perfect, in respect to an assessment of excise duty in the sum of £22,790 and a penalty of £4,897.48.

Mr Perfect is a lorry driver who was stopped by UK Border Force at Dover Docks and was found to be carrying 26 pallets of beer on which excise duty had not been paid. The FTT upheld Mr Perfect’s appeal on the basis that he was an `innocent agent’ who lacked actual or constructive knowledge of the fact that the good were liable to excise duty, which had not been paid.

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