DHL Air (UK) Ltd Loses Appeal on Retroactive End-Use Relief for Imported Aircraft

• DHL Air UK Ltd lost its appeal to the Upper Tribunal regarding retroactive authorisation for end-use relief on seven aircraft.
• The aircraft were imported between June 2016 and February 2017 under an expired authorisation.
• DHL applied for retroactive authorisation in April 2017, which HMRC denied, leading to a customs duty demand of approximately £3 million.
• The Upper Tribunal agreed with the First-tier Tribunal that the 2017 application was not a renewal of the previous authorisation due to different legal codes and geographic scope.
• The Upper Tribunal upheld the First-tier Tribunal’s interpretation of “exceptional circumstances” under the UCC Delegated Regulation.
• The Upper Tribunal found no evidence of discriminatory treatment by HMRC against DHL.
• The case highlights the importance of current authorisations and compliance with procedural requirements.
• It provides guidance on retroactive relief and the need for evidence in fairness arguments.

Source: rpclegal.com

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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