Stewart Bowman v The Commissioners for HMRC
[2024] UKFTT 162 (TC)
Antri Georgiou v The Commissioners for HMRC
20 February 2024
[2024] UKFTT 152 (TC)
First-tier Tribunal
Someone moved to the UK and wanted to avoid paying import taxes on their car from Cyprus. The tax office said no because they hadn't owned the car long enough. The court said yes because they kept using it in Cyprus after they moved and the law let them count that time. It was a tricky legal argument about which rules applied.
Key Facts
- •Ms. Georgiou, a Cypriot citizen, moved to the UK in February 2023 for a job with PwC.
- •She imported a car from Cyprus, applying for Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief from customs duty and VAT.
- •HMRC refused her application, claiming she hadn't possessed the car for six months before moving.
- •The car was delivered to Ms. Georgiou in Cyprus on September 9, 2022, and she used it in Cyprus until her move.
- •Ms. Georgiou continued to use the car during return visits to Cyprus after moving to the UK.
Legal Principles
ToR relief requires possession and use of the property for at least six months before importation, under Article 11(1)(c) of the 1992 Order.
Customs and Excise Duties (Personal Reliefs for Goods Permanently Imported) Order 1992
The 2020 Regulations also require six months' possession, but the six-month period is calculated differently (from ceasing to be normally resident outside the UK). Exceptional circumstances can waive this requirement.
Customs (Reliefs from a Liability to Import Duty and Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, and UK Reliefs document
The burden of proof is on the applicant to show entitlement to relief, on the balance of probabilities.
Case Law
Outcomes
Appeal allowed; Ms. Georgiou is entitled to ToR relief.
The Tribunal found that Ms. Georgiou met the six-month possession and use requirement under the 1992 Order, despite the car not being imported yet. Her continued use during return trips to Cyprus, totalling over six months, satisfied the criteria. While she didn't meet the 2020 Regulations' criteria, the Tribunal decided that the 1992 Order and 2020 Regulations are not mutually exclusive. The delay in car delivery and the reason for moving were not deemed 'exceptional circumstances' under the 2020 Regulations.