UT/2023/000023 - [2024] UKUT 00096 (TCC)

The Appellant, Cozy Pet Limited (“Cozy Pet”) imports various pet-related products for retail sale including cat trees, cat scratchers, pet playpens and pet playpen panels. This appeal concerns the relevant customs duty classification for those.

The First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) (“FTT”) rejected the customs classifications Cozy Pet had advanced for the products in its decision published as Cozy Pet Limited v HMRC [2022] UKFTT 359 (TC) (“the FTT Decision”). Those classifications would have resulted in Cozy Pet paying no or reduced customs duty amounts compared with the customs classifications HMRC had put forward. The FTT accordingly dismissed the appeals Cozy Pet had made to the FTT in 2019 against customs duty demand decisions HMRC had made on 27 March 2019 and 22 October 2019. The effect of the FTT’s decision was to maintain the duty rates HMRC had used to calculate the customs duty demanded (with the exception of one of the types of product - a “single column” cat scratcher). The customs duty HMRC sought amounted to approximately £30,000. The FTT granted Cozy Pet permission to appeal against the FTT Decision in respect of all of the products on the grounds that, for a number of reasons, the FTT’s analysis was wrong in law. Cozy Pet did not pursue its appeal against the FTT’s decision relating to the single column cat scratcher. We deal first with the cat tree and cat scratcher products before moving on to the pet playpen products.