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West Drayton-based Rex Haulage and its directors have successfully appealed against their disqualification from holding an O-licence following the revocation of the company's licence for the second time. However, the Transport Tribunal dismissed the company's appeal against the licence revocation. In October 2006 the then Eastern Traffic Commissioner Geoffrey Simms revoked the company's four-vehicle/four-trailer licence. He also disqualified the company from holding an O-licence indefinitely and  disqualified its then sole director Jaspreet Grewal for three years.

The Transport Tribunal allowed an appeal against that decision to the extent of sending the case back to the TC for further consideration. The company subsequently submitted an application for a two-vehicle licence based at Slough in the Western Traffic Area. Director and transport manager Tarvinderjit Singh Grewal admitted to TC Tom Macartney that operation from Slough had started in January or February 2006. He said that originally his father, Mohinder Singh Grewal, had passed the business to his sister, Jaspreet Grewal. She in turn had passed it on to him, stepping down as a director.

He denied that the company was a front for his father. In addition to revoking the Eastern licence and refusing the Western application, the TC disqualified the company from holding a licence indefinitely, Jaspreet Grewal for five years and Tarvinderjit Singh Grewal for three years. The Tribunal said it was clear that  Tarvinderjit Grewal was supported by his father, who was assisting in managing the fleet, but they regarded that as a natural result where junior members of a family had access to a retired family member with such experience. There seemed to the Tribunal no reason why a sister should not decide that road haulage was not for her and to pass her interests to her brother. In the same way it did not appear in any way odd that Mohinder Grewal should have gifted his interests to his children.

NO JUSTIFICATION

In the circumstances the Tribunal did not see any justification for findings of loss of repute and the disqualification orders.