In Marius Wnek v the UK Border Agency (TC02964 – 17 October 2013) Mr Wnek was appealing against the seizure and forfeiture of his van. The seizure had taken place because Mr Wnek (a Polish citizen) had been found bringing into the UK nearly 1kg of loose tobacco leaves.
The issue was whether Mr Wnek had properly given notice of his claim to the UK Border Agency (UKBA) as the letter sent by Mr Wnek to the UKBA had not contained the name of a UK solicitor in breach of CEMA 1979 Sch 3 para 4 which made this a requirement when the claimant is outside the UK.
The First-tier Tribunal stressed that ‘a member state may not place at a disadvantage citizens of another member state because they have chosen to remain resident in that other member state.’ The tribunal found that the difference in treatment between...
