1 Nov 2010

French Polynesia's Rolls Royce car import test case bound for Paris ruling

6:40 pm on 1 November 2010

The French Polynesian case over the legality of the French customs department office levying import duties in Tahiti is to go to the highest court in France.

Last week, the appeal court threw out some charges but upheld that Tahiti businessman, Rene Hoffer, broke regulations by importing a Rolls Royce car without paying duty and then using a California licence plate.

However, the court sentenced him to two months in jail - a term he has served because in June he was imprisoned for a year for contempt of court but let go in August.

Rene Hoffer says the first conviction was baseless and therefore he was given a fresh sentence.

"This being dropped means I could not have been sent in the first place. So that's the reason why they give me two months jail. It's to cover up the two months I did. So they don't have a new problem with me which is suing them for having put me in jail illegaly for two months."

Rene Hoffer maintains that three court cases already confirmed that the importation of the car was legal.