In 1628 he refused to pay tonnage and poundage when King Charles I continued to levy the charge in defiance of Parliament.

Silks and other goods to the value of £1,517 were seized from him by the customs authorities, and he was forced into a lengthy lawsuit in order to recover them.

Writs issued by the courts on his behalf were blocked by order of the Privy Council and the Exchequer, and he was summoned by the king before the Court of Star Chamber, which the House of Commons treated as a breach of its parliamentary privilege, as it was then debating the legitimacy of seizure of merchants' goods by the crown.

In 1630 following the dissolution of Parliament, Rolle was again summoned before the Star Chamber and was questioned about speeches made by him in the Commons.

The expense was met by a fine on the executors of the Farmers of Customs and on Sir William Acton, 1st Baronet, the Sheriff of London who had been in office in 1628.