Man fined for giving false information to customs in Dundalk
A motorist who drove off after being informed that his Northern Ireland registered car was being seized, was found to have two PPS numbers, Dundalk Court heard
A motorist who drove off after being informed that his Northern Ireland registered car was being seized, was found to have two PPS numbers, Dundalk Circuit Court heard last week.
The details emerged during a district court appeal by Bobby Mehta (57) of Willowdale, Bay Estate, Dundalk against a conviction for giving false or misleading information on September 13th 2024.
A Revenue customs officer gave evidence last Tuesday of stopping the appellant at the Racecourse Road in Dundalk and asking him to remain at the scene as she went to check the Vehicle Registration Tax applicable to the Northern registered Grand Cherokee Jeep he was driving.
However she said he drove off "at speed" and she subsequently established Mr Mehta, who had given her an address in Newry, had a second PPS number, with a four months difference in the date of birth and one letter was different in his surname.
When her colleague subsequently spoke to him about this, he admitted giving the incorrect PPS number on the date of the offence.
When Mr Mehta's barrister asked if she was certain she had advised his client to remain at the scene, she replied "absolutely" and said she had explained his vehicle would be detained, if he didn't pay the VRT, which she had gone to check on the VRT calculator on her mobile phone.
When the lawyer said his client wasn't aware it was going to be seized, the witness said "There's no possibility at all" that there was a misunderstanding.
The appellant told the court "the lady told me there would be a fine and I moved away" and claimed he was under the impression it would be sent to him.
He explained the first PPS number related to his application for Stamp 4 status when he first came here, and the real date of birth was used when he went to the High Court to regularise his status about five years later.
He claimed the incorrect PPS number he had given was linked to the driving licence he had produced for the customs officer and said at the time he worked in Newry and stayed there four nights a week.
When the Barrister argued his client wasn't trying "intentionally to mislead the officers" Judge Sarah Berkeley said "I don't believe that at all.
He gave information about a false date of birth that he was aware of. What he did was false and misleading".
The court heard he had no previous Revenue convictions, but had served a Circuit Court sentence from 2013 for assault causing harm and other older road traffic offences including drink driving. Mr Mehta is in receipt of €250 per week under the Jobseekers Allowance and no longer lives at the Bay Estate address and is couch surfing between friends.
He had also disposed of the vehicle following the incident.
Judge Berkeley affirmed the district court conviction and fine of €2,500.