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ARTICLE · 22 APRIL 2015

No State Immunity In Commercial Agreements Targeting Contraband Cigarettes

Elias Neocleous & Co LLC
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On March 18 2015 the Supreme Court examined Appeal 109/2009 against a decision made by the Limassol District Court to set aside orders obtained by Tlais Enterprises Limited to seal and serve...

CyprusLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Costas Stamatiou
Costas Stamatiou
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No State Immunity In Commercial Agreements Targeting Contraband Cigarettes

On March 18 2015 the Supreme Court examined Appeal 109/2009 against a decision made by the Limassol District Court to set aside orders obtained by Tlais Enterprises Limited to seal and serve an action in the district court against Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the UK tax and customs authority.1

Background

From 2002 to 2005 Tlais was the exclusive agent in Cyprus of Gallaher International Limited, a major UKbased multinational tobacco company now owned by Japan Tobacco. Their relationship, particularly its termination, had already been the subject of litigation in the English courts.2

Tlais, Gallaher and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise – which was subsequently absorbed into HMRC – were also parties to a separate tripartite agreement intended to reduce import of contraband cigarettes into the United Kingdom via Cyprus or Dubai. The tripartite agreement was based on Her

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