The duty of HM Customs and Excise under s.9 Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 to cooperate with other European customs services was a relevant duty for the purposes of s.167 of that Act, and justified the exercise of the power of forfeiture under the latter section. Although the claimant had established that goods detained under s.19(3) Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 had been detained for too long, the claimant was not entitled to damages as it could not prove title to those goods.

QBD (TCC) (Judge Livesey QC)

21/12/1999