Pierhead Drinks v HMRC

In Pierhead Drinks v HMRC [2019] UKUT 7 (23 January 2019) the UT found that the FTT had been entitled to make an adverse finding that Pierhead’s director was not a fit and proper person when refusing the company’s application to be registered under the Warehousekeepers and Owners of Warehoused Goods Regulations 1999 (WOWGR) to trade in duty suspended excise goods.

Pierhead had appealed against HMRC’s decision to refuse its application to be registered under the WOWGR. The FTT had found against Pierhead which had sought permission to appeal to the UT. At the reconsideration hearing Pierhead argued that the FTT had not alerted Mr Hercules (one of its directors) of its intention to make a finding that he was not a fit and proper person to be registered under WOWGR. Accordingly Mr Hercules had never had an opportunity to address that issue....