R v Tertsis [2023] NSWDC 442

R v Tertsis [2023] NSWDC 442

The offending was comfortably within the mid-range of objective seriousness because the offender knowingly performed an important and trusted facilitating role in an organised, sophisticated and large-scale scheme to import 16 million cigarettes and avoid nearly $18 million in Customs duty. Although he was not a principal and was lower in the hierarchy, he arranged storage, operated accounts, dealt with brokers, made payments and provided documents he knew were false. General deterrence, adequate punishment and the seriousness of the revenue fraud required imprisonment, with a 25 percent discount for the early guilty plea and some allowance for isolation in custody and rehabilitation...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
22 September 2023
Procedural Posture
Criminal Sentence / Sentence Following Guilty Plea
Outcome
Convicted and sentenced to a Commonwealth term of imprisonment of 3 years 3 months with a non-parole period of 18 months, commencing 14 September 2022.
Legal Topics
['commonwealth Offence' 'import Tobacco With Intention of Defrauding the Commonwealth of Revenue' 'objective Seriousness' 'general Deterrence' 'guilty Plea Discount' 'non Parole Period']
['criminal Law' 'sentencing' 'customs and Excise'] ['commonwealth Offence' 'import Tobacco With Intention of Defrauding the Commonwealth of Revenue' 'objective Seriousness' 'general Deterrence' 'guilty Plea Discount' 'non Parole Period']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Sentence / Sentence Following Guilty Plea

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['What sentence should be imposed for an offence under s 233BABAD(1) of the Customs Act (Cth) 1901 of importing tobacco with intention of defrauding the revenue.' "How objectively serious the offending was having regard to the offender's role, the scale and sophistication of the importations, the quantity of tobacco and the duty avoided." "What weight should be given to the offender's early guilty plea, contrition, lack of cooperation, personal circumstances, deterrence and rehabilitation prospects." 'Whether any penalty other than imprisonment was appropriate under s 17A of the Crimes Act 1914.']

Ratio Decidendi

The offending was comfortably within the mid-range of objective seriousness because the offender knowingly performed an important and trusted facilitating role in an organised, sophisticated and large-scale scheme to import 16 million cigarettes and avoid nearly $18 million in Customs duty. Although he was not a principal and was lower in the hierarchy, he arranged storage, operated accounts, dealt with brokers, made payments and provided documents he knew were false. General deterrence, adequate punishment and the seriousness of the revenue fraud required imprisonment, with a 25 percent discount for the early guilty plea and some allowance for isolation in custody and rehabilitation...

Court Disposition

Convicted and sentenced to a Commonwealth term of imprisonment of 3 years 3 months with a non-parole period of 18 months, commencing 14 September 2022.

Orders

  • ['The offender is convicted of the offence.' 'A head sentence of 3 years 3 months is imposed, dating from 14 September 2022 and expiring on 13 December 2025.' 'A non-parole period of 18 months is imposed, dating from 14 September 2022 and expiring on 13 March 2024.' 'A 25 percent discount for the utilitarian value...