Archive for January, 2014

A businesswoman who was caught out by endangered species protection laws when border control officers seized an alligator skin Hermes handbag at Heathrow airport has failed to convince a tax tribunal that the luxury item should be returned to her. The handbag was intended as a Christmas gift for the woman’s mother, a non-UK resident, and had been purchased in America by a family friend. It was brought into the UK by another third party who declared it in the red channel and presented a purchase receipt and a certificate from the manufacturer. However, in the absence of the required import/export documentation, officers seized the handbag under the terms of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Following a review, the decision not to restore the handbag was upheld by the Director of Border Revenue and its forfeiture and ... Read more