Commissioner of Customs v Delta Petroleum (Caribbean) Limited (British Virgin Islands)

The Board of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (Lord Kerr, Lord Wilson, Lord Reed, Lord Carnwath and Lord Hughes) has handed down judgment, finding the Commissioner’s seizure of Delta’s fuel storage tank and its contents to be unlawful, the fuel not having been liable to forfeiture under the Customs Management and Duties Act No 6 of 2010. 

The Board found that section 20 of the British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation Ordinance allowed the British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation (BVIEC) to import free of duty petroleum products used in the generation of electricity irrespective of whether that fuel was imported by BVIEC directly or on its behalf by an agent.  The fuel in question had been imported by Delta for BVIEC.  Accordingly, the Board advised Her Majesty to dismiss the Commissioner’s appeal from the decision of Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal (British Virgin Islands) which had overturned the decision of the High Court on the Commissioner’s forfeiture application; and to allow Delta’s cross appeal that the Court of Appeal should have ordered damages for the wrongful seizure, it having been made without reasonable grounds.

The full judgment is available here.

Naina Patel and Tom Richards acted for the Respondent, Delta.