Con Traas writes from Dublin:
Just a quick note from the circuit criminal court in Dublin to let you all
know that David Llewellyn has been found not guilty on the charge of evasion of excise duty on cider produced on his farm.
He put up a thorough defence under four hours of cross-examination by the state, and the judge directed the jury to find him not guilty.
An excellent and just verdict for David, and a landmark victory for craft cidermaking in Ireland.
A bit of background to this story can be found on Cider by Rosie
I am presently on trial in the Dublin Circuit Court - the trial started today! - for the “intent to defraud the state of excise duty on cider”. Without going into details, the crux of my defense is that I have been making and selling cider under the understanding that a little-known section of the 1940 cider regulations has exempted me from having a licence and from paying excise duty, by virtue of the fact that I am essentially deriving my living from the land. I see this as a test case for apple growers here, and I am prepared to fight it to the death (or, more realistically, prison!!!).
News story in the Irish Examiner :
A farmer has been acquitted at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on charges of evading excise duty on cider he made and sold in farmers’ markets.
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