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Originally Posted by dr wadd
Is that not more to do with the fact that he came into port without thinking to unload the stock on to another boat first of all?
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Well, it's more to do with the following, I think...
"Customs came down yesterday and gave us until midnight tonight to leave.
"Then they came down again this morning and said the agreement was null and void.
"They couldn't give us any reason for this, and said they had instructions from above. They said their hands were tied."
In other words they were pressured from "on high" to change their minds, even though they knew damn well that he had *no* intent of trying to sell his goods on UK territory.
I believe (although I'm not a lawyer) that if a boat is carrying cargo which is not to be off-loaded at a particular port, then it is still considered "at sea" for the purposes of Customs and Excise ie if your ship is dropping of cargo at three different ports in three different countries, only what you're dropping off *at the time* is generally considered of interest.
Still, HM C&E are a law unto themselves...