Import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue

Legislation: Customs Act 1901 (Cth) s 233BABAD(1)

Maximum penalty: 10 years imprisonment, 5 x amount of duty (if known) or 1,000 penalty units, or both

Period: 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2024

Jurisdiction: higher courts

Charges



Cases



All outcomes

Males

Females

Aged under 25

Aged 25 to 54

Aged 55 and over

*Note: unavailable options have under 10 cases

Charge data

In the higher courts, 32 charges of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue were sentenced in the five years to 30 June 2024. The most common sentence for a charge of this offence was imprisonment (100% or 32 charges).

On SACStat, a charge is a single count of a sentenced offence. Charge data is most useful in understanding how a specific crime is usually sentenced.

Case data

In 22 cases sentenced in the higher courts in the five years to 30 June 2024, import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue was the principal proven offence (the most serious crime in the case). Among the 22 cases, 21 people were male and 1 person was female. The most common outcome for cases was imprisonment with a recognizance release order with later release (54.5% or 12 cases).

A case is a collection of one or more charges against a person or company sentenced at the one hearing. Case data is most useful in understanding the total sentence usually imposed on people found guilty of a particular crime.

Bar graph showing sentence types imposed for charges of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 1**: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue
**Number: 32 charges**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for charges of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 2**: Imprisonment lengths for charges of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue
**Number: 32 charges**
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 0.08 years, the longest is 3.5 years, and the median is 1.62 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 1.62 years and half are above.
**Note**: The graph only includes imprisonment that was not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate imprisonment).

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for charges of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 3**: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue by financial year
**Number: 32 charges**

Bar graph showing the number of charges each year for the offence of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 4**: Number of charges of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue by financial year
**Number: 32 charges**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths each year for charges of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 5**: Average imprisonment lengths for charges of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue by financial year
**Number: 32 charges**
**Note**: The graph only includes imprisonment that was not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate imprisonment).

Bar graph showing sentence types for all offenders for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 6A**: Sentencing outcomes for all people for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue
**Number: 22 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for male offenders for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 6B**: Sentencing outcomes for males for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue
**Number: 21 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged 25 to 54 for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 6E**: Sentencing outcomes for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue
**Number: 19 cases**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 7A**: Imprisonment lengths for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue
**Number: 22 cases**, including imprisonment only (6 cases), imprisonment with a recognizance release order where the person is released immediately (4 cases), and imprisonment with a recognizance release order where the person is released after serving some time in prison (12 cases).
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 0 years (i.e. the prison sentence was one or two days), the longest is 4 years, and the median is 1.17 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 1.17 years and half are above.

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for males for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 7B**: Imprisonment lengths for males for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue
**Number: 21 cases**
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 0 years (i.e. the prison sentence was one or two days), the longest is 4 years, and the median is 1.21 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 1.21 years and half are above.

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 7E**: Imprisonment lengths for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue
**Number: 19 cases**
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 0.33 years, the longest is 4 years, and the median is 1.25 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 1.25 years and half are above.

Bar graph showing recognizance release order lengths for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 9**: Imprisonment lengths and recognizance release orders lengths for imprisonment with RRO for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue
**Number: 16 cases**
**Ranges and medians**: The shortest imprisonment length is 0 years (i.e. the prison sentence was one or two days), the longest is 1.5 years, and the median is 1.08 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 1.08 years and half are above. The shortest recognizance release order length is 0.5 years, the longest is 3 years, and the median is 1.08 years, meaning that half of the recognizance release order lengths are below 1.08 years and half are above

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 10**: Sentencing outcomes for all cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue by financial year
**Number: 22 cases**

Bar graph showing the number of cases each year for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 11**: Number of cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue for all people by financial year
**Number: 22 cases**

Bar graph showing the average imprisonment length each year for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 12A**: Average imprisonment lengths for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue by financial year
**Number: 22 cases**

Bar graph showing the average imprisonment length (when combined with a recognizance release order) for each year for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 12D**: Average imprisonment lengths with a recognizance release order (RRO) for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue by financial year
**Number: 16 cases**

Bar graph showing age groups of offenders for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 13A**: Ages of offenders (where age is known) for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue
**Number: 22 cases**

Bar graph showing gender of offenders for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 13B**: Gender of offenders (where gender is known) for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue
**Number: 22 cases**

Bar graph showing the number of charges in cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue — **Figure 13C**: Number of charges per case (of any sentenced offence) for cases of import tobacco product with intent to defraud revenue
**Number: 22 cases**