Country Road loses court battle over duties

Country Road loses court battle over duties
The case involving Country Road NZ was appealed to the High Court at Auckland. (Image: Jason Oxenham)
Gregor Thompson
The High Court at Auckland has ruled Country Road’s New Zealand operation must retroactively pay $2.5 million in duties and GST to the NZ Customs Service.  In August 2023, Customs NZ appealed a decision by the Customs Appeal Authority (CAA), which held that Country Road NZ did not owe duties on the licensing and royalty payments it makes to its parent company for intellectual property.A June 25 judgment showed that Justice Andrew Becroft quashed the CAA decision, ruling in favour of Customs NZ."Who would have thought t...

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