Immigration Corner | Options after request to return items seized by UK Customs

Dear Mr Bassie,

A while ago you advised a reader on how to request items to be returned if they were seized by customs in the United Kingdom. If I am not in agreement with their response, I would like to know what other options are available to me.

I would appreciate any advice that you can provide.

– A.L.

Dear A.L.,

There are a number of options available to persons who are not satisfied with the response received after requesting the return of seized items.

ASK FOR A COURT HEARING

Persons can send a ‘notice of claim’ if they think it was illegal for customs to seize their things. For example, they brought in alcohol or tobacco for their personal use. Please note that a seizure is legal if persons break the rules on bringing or receiving things from abroad.

Persons challenging will have to go to court. If they win their claim, they will get their things back. However, if they have already been disposed of, they can ask for compensation.

Please be aware that persons may have to pay court costs if they do not win their claim.

SENDING A NOTICE OF CLAIM

Persons making the claim should follow the example notice of the claim which can be found online at Guidance. Notice 12A gives detailed guidance about making a claim and what happens in a court hearing.

Alternatively, persons can write their own. They will need to include:

• The seizure reference number on the notice received from customs

• Their name and address

• A list of the items taken that they think customs wrongly to seized – they should include details, for example, quantities and brands

• Proof of ownership, if their vehicle was seized

• Why they think it was illegal for customs to seize your things

IF BORDER FORCE SEIZED ITEMS

The notice of claim should be sent to Border Force’s post seizure unit.

National post seizure unit

Border Force

3rd Floor

West Point

Ebrington Street

Plymouth

PL4 9LT

If HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) seized the Items

For excise goods such as alcohol, tobacco and fuel, persons should send the notice of claim to:

Solicitor’s Office and Legal Services

HM Revenue and Customs

Cotton House

7 Cochrane Street

Glasgow

G1 1GY

For all other goods, send your notice of claim to:

Solicitor’s Office and Legal Services

HM Revenue and Customs

Customs Reviews and Litigation

BX9 1ZT

It is important to check the notice or letter received from customs. If persons do not know who seized their things, they should contact HMRC to obtain a copy of the notice.

Please be aware that the notice of claim must be received by HMRC or Border Force within a month of the items being seized. These things are usually kept until the claim is decided, unless they are perishable, for example, items are food.

Persons claiming can appoint someone (for example, a solicitor) to deal with their claim and represent them in court. The claimant should send an agent authority form with their notice of claim.

Please note that persons who live outside the UK must appoint a UK solicitor to handle their claim and represent them in court. They too, should send an agent authority form giving the solicitor’s details with their notice of claim.

All the best.

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court-appointed mediator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a chartered arbitrator, the past global president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com