Bloomsbury International Limited and others (Respondents) v Sea Fish Industry Authority and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Appellant)

The appeal was heard by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, with Lord Mance delivering the lead judgment, and Lord Phillips concurring. The case concerned the interpretation of the Fisheries Act 1981 and the imposition of a levy on sea fish and sea fish products. The primary legal issues were whether the statutory power extended to imposing a levy on sea fish or parts of sea fish first brought to land outside the United Kingdom and later imported, and whether such a levy constituted a charge equivalent to a customs duty under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

The court held that the statutory power did extend to imposing a levy on sea fish or parts of sea fish first brought to land outside the United Kingdom and later imported. This conclusion was based on the purpose and scheme of the 1981 Act, which was to promote the efficiency of the sea fish industry and include importers of sea fish or sea fish products. The narrower interpretation of the word "landed" would have resulted in very few importers actually contributing to the levy, which was inconsistent with the legislative purpose and scheme.

Regarding the second issue, the court determined that the levy did not constitute a charge having equivalent effect to customs duty (CEE) under TFEU articles 28 and 30. The carefully structured scheme fell within the scope of article 110, as it was a general system of internal dues applied systematically to categories of products according to objective criteria, without regard to the origin of the products.

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and restored the lower court's judgment dismissing the respondents' claim and allowing the Authority's counterclaim for levy and otherwise.