Canmi Limited Liable for Unpaid Excise Duty Despite Acting as Direct Representative

• Canmi Limited lost its appeal against HMRC regarding a notice of joint and several liability for unpaid excise duty.
• The case involved beer imported from Nigeria using an incorrect tax code, leading to a higher duty assessment.
• Canmi acted as a direct representative for Miss Miram Bumah in the customs process.
• The main issue was whether Canmi’s involvement made it liable for the irregular imports.
• HMRC argued any involvement was enough for liability, while Canmi claimed it required knowledge of the irregularity.
• The FTT upheld HMRC’s assessment, finding Canmi liable under excise regulations.
• The FTT rejected Canmi’s arguments about excise versus customs liability and the burden of proof.
• The decision highlights that any party involved in irregular imports can be liable for unpaid duty, stressing the need for due diligence by customs agents.

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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