Ryan Johnston v Driver and Vehicle Agency

Detention is lawful where an authorised officer has reason to believe, on the balance of probabilities, that a goods vehicle is being or has been used in breach of Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act (Northern Ireland) 2010 s 1. The cabotage exemption requires national carriage for hire or reward on a temporary basis in the United Kingdom and compliance with Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009. A foreign registration, licence and international journeys do not establish temporary presence where the evidence, taken as a whole, shows that the operation is based domestically. The owner bears the burden of proving ownership and establishing a ground for return. An appeal succeeds only where the decision under appeal is plainly wrong or the reasoning and application of law require a different view.

Two Bulgarian-registered goods vehicles and trailers were detained in Belfast on 21 September 2023. Neither vehicle was covered by a Northern Ireland operator’s licence. The appellant claimed that the vehicles were undertaking lawful cabotage under EU Community Licences.

The Presiding Officer found that the first vehicle was not in the United Kingdom temporarily and that the second vehicle lacked the documentation required to establish a laden incoming international journey. He also found that no ground for return had been established and directed disposal of the vehicles and one trailer. The appellant appealed on grounds including improper detention, ownership, cabotage, the validity of Community Licences, procedural unfairness and lack of knowledge.

1. Appeal dismissed. The Presiding Officer’s decisions were lawfully reached and were not plainly wrong. The direction to dispose of vehicles B876 9TP and B900 8BT and trailer NI-070340-10 therefore took immediate effect.
2. The Upper Tribunal’s function was to review the information before the Presiding Officer and his decision on that material. The appellant bore the burden of showing that the process of reasoning and application of the relevant law required a different conclusion: [2010] EWCA Civ 695; 1919 SC (HL) 35.
3. Under Regulation 3 of the Goods Vehicles (Enforcement Powers) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012, detention was justified where the officer had reason to believe that the vehicles were being used in breach of s 1 of the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act (Northern Ireland) 2010. The DVA bore that burden on the balance of probabilities.
4. The paragraph 23 cabotage exemption required three cumulative conditions: national carriage for hire or reward; presence in the United Kingdom on a temporary basis; and compliance with Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009. The first vehicle satisfied the international-carriage and documentary requirements, but the extensive connections with Northern Ireland outweighed its limited connections with Bulgaria. The Presiding Officer was entitled to conclude that it was not in Northern Ireland temporarily.
5. The second vehicle was also lawfully detained. There was conflicting evidence about its user and the status of the Community Licence. In addition, the evidence did not establish a laden incoming international journey. Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 required the incoming international carriage to be laden before cabotage could begin. The later production of documents did not make the Presiding Officer’s finding irrational or procedurally unfair.
6. The owner had to prove ownership and then establish a ground for return under Regulation 4. A “valid licence” under Regulation 4(3)(a) meant an operator’s licence issued under the 2010 Act, unless a valid cabotage exemption applied. No such exemption was established.
7. For the lack-of-knowledge ground under Regulation 4(3)(c), the owner bore the burden of proving that he probably did not know of the contravening use. The decision-maker should first ask whether there is evidence capable of supporting that conclusion. The appellant’s evidence did not do so, and the surrounding circumstances showed that he must have known of the relevant use.

• Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) [2025] UKUT 170 (AAC): appeal dismissed. The Presiding Officer’s direction to dispose of the vehicles and trailer took immediate effect.
• Presiding Officer on behalf of the Department for Infrastructure: interim decision dated 21 December 2023 and final decision dated 28 March 2024. Detention was upheld, no ground for return was established, and disposal was directed.