HMRC or Border Force may seize your vehicle if it believes that you were attempting to evade paying the appropriate duties on the product when bringing it into the UK. Moreover, the vehicle may also be seized if it is used in smuggling operations. You can have your vehicle returned to you by challenging the seizure or asking Border Force to return your goods, and this article explains your options. So, here’s how to challenge a vehicle seizure by Border Force.
How to Challenge a Vehicle Seizure by Border Force
What’s important to understand is that challenging a vehicle seizure by the UK Border Force is that you are claiming that the seizure of your vehicle was done illegally. Therefore, you will have to prove that there were no legal grounds for Border Force or HMRC to seize your vehicle. You will need to make this clear to Border Force, explicitly stating that this is a condemnation proceeding—not a restoration request.
You will need to consult UK solicitors with experience in the seizure of goods, item stoppages, and product detentions to build a solid case. Your team of lawyers can help develop a case for you
Know the Deadlines
If Border Force seizes your vehicle, you have 28 days since the seizure to get the vehicle back. After that, it may get sold or destroyed. Thus, make sure to speak to your lawyers without any delays to ensure that you have the opportunity to have your belonging returned to you.
An Important Point to Keep in Mind
Before you go with this option, it’s crucial that you consult your lawyers to determine if the vehicle seizure was legal or not. Your lawyer may point out some details that show illegal action by Border Force officers that you may not have known. On the other hand, they may indicate the opposite. There’s no point in challenging a vehicle seizure by Border Force if you are not entirely sure that the process was done illegally; you should also be confident that you can present evidence for the illegal seizure.
If you have a basis for challenging the vehicle seizure, you can begin with condemnation proceedings. Your team of lawyers will provide you with the relevant details on how to go about this process. If you don’t have a credible basis for your challenge, you can try some of the other options as discussed below.
Other Options to Have Your Vehicle Returned
In addition to knowing how to challenge a vehicle seizure by Border Force, you should note that there are other options available to have your vehicle back in your possession. They are as follows.
The first is to make a restoration request. In that case, you’ll accept that the seizure was legal, and you want your vehicle returned to you. The second is to make a restoration request and challenge a vehicle seizure by Border Force. This is a combination of the option above and condemnation proceedings.
