Attorney General v Southern Industrial Trust Ltd and Another

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Court: Supreme Court
• Judgment Date: 01 January 1960
• Date: 01 January 1960

(S.C.)

Attorney-General

and

Southern Industrial Trust Limited and Another

Car subject to hire-purchase agreement - Car exported by owner - No licence for exportation - Balance of hire-purchase price due to hire-purchase company - Car the property of hire-purchase company - Proceedings by Attorney General upon information for condemnation of car - Whether proceedings criminal or civil -Customs (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1945, s. 5 (1).

1. S. purchased a motor car at the end of 1950. The transaction was financed by I. T. Ltd. a hire-purchase company, the amount advanced to S. being repayable by him by monthly instalments. Wishing to export it temporarily he joined the A.A. and obtained a Tripty que for exportation of the car to Great Britain via Northern Ireland, and duly exported the car to Great Britain via Northern Ireland. In his application for membership of the A.A. S. gave an Eire address as his private and business address. In his application for the Tripty que he gave the same address as his permanent home address. He also declared that he had no domicile in Great Britain or Northern Ireland, that he was resident in Eire and that he had been so resident for the past half-year. In fact S. had spent only a period of ten days or a fortnight in the address he had given in Eire. He ceased paying the hire-purchase instalments when he still owed the company £46 18s. 3d. The car was, on the advice of the A.A., brought back to Eire where it was seized by a Customs Officer on the grounds that he suspected that it had been unlawfully exported from Eire in the first instance. At this time the Company were the owners of the car. The Company claimed the return of the car and the Attorney General brought proceedings by way of information for the forfeiture and...