Court orders release of brandy erroneously declared to be wine

A consignment of brandy that was seized by the Customs' authorities after having been erroneously declared as wine when cleared through Freeport, was released to the owners after a Court held that the wrong declaration was an oversight.

In December 2011, Patrick Cellars Ltd cleared a container from the Malta Freeport, which customs declaration read that it contained 2,111 boxes of alcoholic beverages. While 100 boxes were said to be brandy, the rest declared to be wine.

Stephen Vella, on behalf of shipping agents Carmelo Caruana Co Ltd, filed the necessary documentation for customs clearance, but it was here that he omitted to note the 100 boxes of brandy, having assumed the container only contained wine.

Customs officers found the undeclared brandy and seized the boxes for further investigations. A court order over the undeclared bottles was issued on 19 April 2012. The court stated that if declared the brandy would have resulted in higher tax and excise rates.

Patrick Cellars Ltd filed a lawsuit against the Commissioner of Revenue claiming the mistake had not been malicious.

Magistrate Marseann Farrugia, hearing that the company imported around 50 containers annually, deduced that the evidence brought forward showed that the company had no intention of evading tax and the mistake was indeed an oversight.

The documents filed at Customs by the shipping agents stated that the container contained 35% proof 'eau de vie de vin', which is brandy. But Vella had omitted to mention the small amount of brandy in the wine consignment.

Farrugia ordered the seized brandy to be released, but Patrick Cellars Ltd must within a month pay the proper importation tax rates over the 100 brandy boxes imported in 2011.