CHRISTOFOROU ν. REPUBLIC & ANOTHER
(1989)3A CLR 210 1989 February 18 [DEMETRIADES, J.] IN THE MATTER OF ARTICLE 146 OF THE CONSTITUTION ANNA CHRISTOFOROU, Applicant, v. THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS, THROUGH THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ANOTHER, Respondents. (Case No 669/87) Reasoning of an administrative act -Lack of-Ground of annulment. Applicant stayed in England for more than 10 continuous years. She returned to Cyprus upon her marriage with a Cypriot She applied for a duty free importation of a motor car Her application was rejected because "her absence from Cyprus did not constitute permanent residence abroad for a continuous period of at least 10 years before her arrival for settlement". As no reasons were given by the respondent for reaching the conclusion that the applicant had not been permanently settled abroad for a continuous period of 10 years, the sub judice decision was annulled. Sub judice decision annulled: No order as tocosts. Recourse. Recourse against the refusal of the respondents to allow applicant to import a motor vehicle free of duty. G. Triantafyllides, for the Applicant. St. Theodoulou, Counsel of the Republic B, for the Respondents. Cur.adv. vult. DEMETRIADES, J. read the following judgment. By her recourse the applicant challenges the refusal of the Director of the Department of Customs and Excise, dated the 27th July. 1987, to allow her to import a motor vehicle free of duty. The facts of the case are, in a nutshell, the following: The applicant and her family come from Famagusta where they lived until the Turkish invasion in August
- Following the Turkish invasion, the applicant's family became refugees and they decided to leave Cyprus and go and live permanently in England. After they left Cyprus, they stayed for a short time in Greece and then they moved on to England where the family took up employment and have since been living there. The applicant was at the time 11 years old. The applicant remained in England until February, 1986 when, following her marriage to a Cypriot, she decided to return to Cyprus for permanent settlement. On the 8th September, 1986, the applicant applied to the respondent Director for relief under Item 01, sub-heading 19 of the Fourth Schedule to the Customs and Excise Duties Law 18/78, as a repatriated Cypriot who, after permanent settlement abroad for at least 10 years, was entitled to the importation of a motor vehicle. The respondent Director, by letter dated the 27th July, 1987, rejected the application of the applicant. It is not in dispute that the family of the applicant still lives in England having permanently settled there and that they carry on the business of publicans. It is also not in dispute that the father of the applicant has been a contributor to the social security system of England since 1975 and that he has been paying since that year not only social security contributions but also income tax. As it appears from the facts in support of the opposition to the recourse of the applicant, she remained in the United Kingdom as from the 28th September, 1974 until the 6th February, 1986 and during her stay there and until 1980 she attended school. Whilst there she was included on the passport of her mother until 1977 when she acquired her own, which was issued by the Consular Office of the Republic of Cyprus in London. In both passports it appears that she was residing in the United Kingdom on a nonpermanent residence basis until the 4th January,
- On the 25th March, 1985, she acquired British nationality and on the 30th September, 1985, a British passport. She returned to Cyprus after she got married to a resident of Cyprus. The issues that are raised in these proceedings are whether the respondent Director acted in abuse of his power and/or in excess of it, whether his decision was duly reasoned, whether it was taken under a misconception of the facts, and whether he was wrong in deciding that the applicant had not been permanently residing abroad for a period of at least 10 years before her return to Cyprus. The decision of the respondent director is dated, as I have already said, the 27th July, 1987 and it is in the form of a circular. The relevant part of it reads as follows: Η απουσία σας από την Κύπρο δε συνιστούσε μόνιμη εγκατάσταση στο εξωτερικό για συνεχή περίοδο τουλάχιστο δέκα χρόνων πριν από την άφιξη σας για επανεγκατάσταση." ("Your absence from Cyprus did not constitute permanent residence abroad for a continuous period of at least ten years before your arrival for resettlement.") No reasons were given by the respondent Director for reaching his decision that the applicant had not permanently resided abroad for a continuous period of at least ten years and none appears in the record before me. In the light of this, I find that the present recourse must succeed as it is not at all and/or duly reasoned. In the result, the decision of the respondents is annulled but, in the circumstances, there will be no order as to costs. Sub judice decision annulled No order as to costs. cylaw.org: Από το ΚΙΝOΠ/CyLii για τον Παγκύπριο Δικηγορικό Σύλλογο