HM Customs has won a landmark legal case against an individual whose ?duty paid? purchases of alcohol and tobacco were within the ?personal private limit? but were also deemed to have been purchased for commercial

gain.
Colin Harrison had his car and a quantity of alcohol and tobacco seized by Customs officers at the UK?s Dover Port late last year after HM Customs? officers asserted that the goods had been purchased in Belgium for onward retail sale in the UK.
Judge Justice Lightman rejected Harrison?s appeal for the return of the car and the goods on the grounds that Harrison had been subject to goods seizure in the past and proved to be dishonest in his replies to Customs? questioning about goods purchased during multiple trips to the continent.