Customs Act 1901 Offences

Under s 233 of the Commonwealth Customs Act 1901, you may face charges where you have smuggled, imported or exported ‘prohibited goods’.

‘Prohibited goods’ are goods prohibited by any Commonwealth legislation, including:

• Certain animals and plants, and some types of animal and plant material
• Firearms and other weapons without the appropriate permission
• Ammunition
• Pornography
• Counterfeit goods
• Chemicals without a license

NOTE: If you have been charged with importing or exporting prohibited drugs, you will face charges under the Commonwealth Criminal Code rather than the Customs Act. Please click here for more information about importing and exporting prohibited drugs under the Commonwealth Criminal Code.

Your Options

Pleading Not Guilty

To be found guilty of smuggling or importing/exporting prohibited goods, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you:

• Attempted to import or export, actually imported or exported or possessed imported goods
• That were prohibited by the law

If you do not feel that the prosecution will be able to establish these two factors beyond a reasonable doubt, you may wish to contest the charges in court by pleading ‘not guilty’.

Our highly experienced criminal lawyers will then give you the strongest possible defence against the charges by disputing the prosecution case and raising any defences to the charges, for example:

• Where you made a reasonable mistake of fact – for example, where you honestly believed that the goods were some other legal goods (honest and reasonable mistake of fact)
• Where you were threatened or coerced into importing/exporting the goods (duress)
• Where you were suffering from a mental illness at the time of the offence (mental illness)

Pleading Guilty

Alternatively, if you wish to accept the charges alleged, you may wish to plead guilty.

In some cases, pleading guilty at an early stage may be beneficial, because the court may award you a more lenient penalty for demonstrating remorse.

If you’re considering pleading guilty, you may be wondering what kinds of penalties you could face.

Generally, the penalty imposed for smuggling, importing or exporting prohibited goods is a fine. The amount that you will be fined depends largely on the value of the goods that were smuggled.

If the court is able to determine the value of the goods, you could face a fine of up to three times the value of the goods, or up to $170,000 (whichever is greater).

Where the court is unable to determine the value of the goods, you could face a fine of up to $170,000.

However, these types of penalties will only apply in the most serious cases. The type of penalty that you will receive depends upon the facts and circumstances of your case.

The types of penalties that you face include:

• Discharge Without Conviction
• Fine
• Good behaviour bonds
• Community Correction Order
• Intensive Correction Orders
• Prison

Our lawyers can help you achieve the lowest possible penalty by presenting your case in the most favourable light and negotiating to have the goods valued advantageously.

If you are charged with importing and exporting certain types of illegal goods, you could face harsh penalties.

However, our highly skilled Accredited Criminal Law Specialists can help you to avoid a conviction and any onerous penalties that may apply.

Under the law, certain goods are deemed to be ‘Tier 1 goods’ and ‘Tier 2 goods.’

Tier 1 goods include:

• Commercial quantities of ‘objectionable goods.’ Objectionable goods include things such as video games, movies, books, magazines or other publications which deal with matters of sex, drugs, crime, cruelty or violence.  Examples may include child pornography, or material instructing or advocating the execution of a terrorist act.
• Objectionable goods which are intended for distribution, or public exhibition
• Performance enhancing drugs
• Non-narcotic drugs

Tier 2 goods include:

• Some weapons, including certain types of firearms and knives;
• Chemicals;
• Body tissue and human bodily fluids such as blood;
• Fake credit cards

Your Options

Pleading Not Guilty

Before you can be found guilty of importing or exporting Tier 1 or Tier 2 goods, the prosecution must prove:

• That you imported or exported a Tier 1 or Tier 2 good
• That you did so either intentionally or recklessly, or without the permission of the appropriate person

If you do not believe that the prosecution will be able to make out these elements beyond a reasonable doubt, our highly skilled advocates can help you defend your matter in court by raising evidence to cast doubt upon the prosecution case.

We can also assist in identifying any defences to the charges, for example:

• Where you made a reasonable mistake of fact – for example, where you honestly believed that the goods were some other legal goods (honest and reasonable mistake of fact)
• Where you were threatened or coerced into importing/exporting the goods (duress)
• Where you were suffering from a mental illness at the time of the offence (mental illness)

Pleading Guilty

If you wish to accept the charges against you, you can enter a plea of guilty without having to go through the process of having a criminal trial. Often, this can make your matter less costly and time-consuming.

The court will also take into consideration the remorse that you have demonstrated by pleading guilty at an early stage, and may give you a more lenient penalty.

If you’re considering entering an early guilty plea, you may be wondering what kinds of penalties you could face.

Under the law, the maximum penalty for importing or exporting Tier 1 or 2 goods is 10 years imprisonment, or a fine of up to $425,000, or both.

However, these types of penalties only apply in the most serious cases. The type of penalty that you will receive depends on several factors that will be considered by the judge.

The types of penalties that you face include:

• Discharge Without Conviction
• Fine
• Good behaviour bonds
• Community Correction Order
• Intensive Correction Orders
• Prison

Our expert defence team can help you achieve a lenient outcome in your case by presenting any mitigating factors which reduce the seriousness of the charges in a compelling manner.

Our senior lawyers are highly skilled at presenting sentencing submissions and have helped hundreds of clients avoid harsh penalties by persuading the judge to deal with Customs Act offences leniently.

We can also negotiate to have the charges reduced to less serious charges which carry lighter penalties.

The law requires you to pay any relevant customs duties or taxes whenever you import goods.

Failure to pay these taxes is a criminal offence, which may result in heavy fines.

However, with the assistance of the experts at Sydney Criminal Lawyers®, you may be able to fight the charges and avoid these harsh penalties.

Your Options

Pleading Not Guilty

There are several different things which can amount to ‘evading customs duty,’ including:

• Failing to pay taxes or duties associated with importing or exporting goods
• Obtaining some kind of rebate, refund or remission from customs duties and taxes
• Making misleading or false statements to customs officers, or other people knowing that the information will be passed on to customs officers
• Selling,  or attempting to sell goods that are purported to be prohibited imports or smuggled goods

To be found guilty of ‘evading paying customs duty,’ the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that your actions constituted one of the above examples.

Our lawyers can help you cast doubt on the prosecution case so that they are unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you did any of the acts under this section.

We can do this by presenting evidence which disputes the prosecution’s case, and raising any defences to explain or justify your actions.

Examples of defences include:

• Where you made a reasonable mistake of fact – for example, where you honestly believed that the goods were some other legal goods (honest and reasonable mistake of fact)
• Where you were threatened or coerced into importing/exporting the goods (duress)
• Where you were suffering from a mental illness at the time of the offence (mental illness)

Pleading Guilty

If you wish to accept the charges against you, you may wish to plead guilty.

This may be beneficial to you in certain situations, as the judge will take into account the remorse that you have demonstrated in entering an early guilty plea, and may award you a more lenient penalty on this basis.

Pleading guilty at an early stage also means that you will be able to avoid the costly and time-consuming process of going through a criminal trial to determine your guilt.

However, before entering a plea, you should speak to an experienced criminal lawyer, as there may be a way to fight the charges and avoid a conviction.

If you are considering pleading guilty, you may be wondering what types of penalties will apply in your case.

The types of penalties depend largely on the types of charges against you, as well as the amount of the financial benefit that was obtained:

• Evading customs duty: Where the court is able to determine the amount of the customs duty that was evaded, you could face a fine of up to two times the amount of the duty that was evaded. Alternatively, where the court is unable to determine the amount that was evaded, you could face a fine of up to $85,000.
• Obtaining a refund/rebate: You could face a fine between 2 and 5 times the amount of the refund or rebate that was received.
• Making false statements to customs officers:  You could face a fine of up to $42,500.
• Selling or attempting to sell goods purported to be prohibited imports or smuggled goods: You could face a fine of up to $1700.

The types of penalties that you face include:

• Discharge Without Conviction
• Fine
• Good behaviour bonds
• Community Correction Order
• Intensive Correction Orders
• Prison

Our lawyers can help you avoid these harsh maximum penalties by presenting your case in a positive light and persuading the judge to deal with your matter leniently.

Our dedicated experts have years of experience presenting compelling sentencing submissions and will fight hard in each and every case to obtain the best possible penalty.

Going to court can be nerve-racking, but having a strong and compassionate legal team behind you can make the experience significantly easier to deal with.

Here are 12 reasons to choose our multi-award winning legal team:

1. Proven Track Record of Exceptional Results

   Sydney Criminal Lawyers® consistently achieves outcomes which are in the highest percentile of the Judicial Commission’s sentencing statistics for criminal cases.

   Our legal team devises effective case-strategies and fights hard to have cases dropped entirely or charges downgraded – saving clients the time, expense and stress of a defended hearing or jury trial.

   Where cases nevertheless proceed, our lawyers have an outstanding track record of winning defended Local Court hearings, and complex jury trials in the District and Supreme Courts.

   We also consistently win appeals in the District and Supreme Courts (including the NSWCCA) after clients have received unsatisfactory results with other law firms in the lower courts.We are one of the few firms to achieve successful criminal law appeals in the High Court of Australia.

   Where our clients wish to plead guilty, we frequently achieve ‘dismissals’ and ‘non convictions’ in cases where other lawyers have advised there is no chance of doing so.

2. Highest Level of Client Satisfaction

   We have the best and most comprehensive client review record of any law firm in Australia.

   Regular communication, accessibility and quality service are our team’s highest priorities.

   We are committed to thoroughly explaining all steps involved in the criminal law process, providing regular updates throughout the proceedings, and making ourselves accessible and responsive.

   We are passionate about providing an exceptional level of service to our clients, and we fight hard to achieve optimal results in the shortest period of time.

3. Australia’s Most Awarded Criminal Law Firm
   

   We have received more awards and accolades than any other criminal law firm in Australia. Our team has been awarded “Criminal Defence Firm of the Year in Australia” in a number of prestigious and competitive awards programs for several years running.

   The awards recognise our exceptional track record of results, our outstanding client service, the high level of satisfaction we achieve, the affordability of our services and our overall excellence.

4. Fixed Fees
   

   We want our clients to know exactly how much their cases will cost from the very start. That’s why we were the first criminal law firm in Australia to publish ‘fixed fees’, back in 2004.

   We offer fixed fees for most types of criminal cases and services.Our fixed fees apply to a range of Local Court cases such as drink driving, drug possession, fraud, common assault and AVOs, and also specific services such as prison visits, bail applications, appeals and defended hearings.

   Unlike many other law firms, our fixed fees are published on our website – which ensures transparency and certainty.

5. Free First Appointment
   

   For those who are going to court, we offer a free first conference of up to an hour with one of our Senior Criminal Defence Lawyers.

   We also offer a free first conference to those who have received an unsatisfactory result after being represented in court by another law firm, or after representing themselves, and wish to appeal.

6. Specialist Lawyer Guarantee
   

   We guarantee that only lawyers with substantial criminal defence experience will work on your case and appear for you in court.

   This ensures our clients receive the highest quality representation from an experienced, specialist criminal lawyer.

7. All NSW Courts
   

   From Bombala to Broken Hill, our lawyers appear in courts throughout New South Wales – and across Australia for Commonwealth cases.

   And we offer fixed fees for most criminal and traffic law cases throughout the state.

8. Accredited Specialists

   Our entire firm is exclusively dedicated to criminal law – which makes us true specialists.

   All of our lawyers have years of experience representing clients in criminal cases, and our principal has been certified by the Law Society of NSW as an Accredited Criminal Law Specialist since 2005.

   An ‘Accredited Specialist’ is a lawyer who has practised for at least 5 years in a particular field of law (such as criminal law), has passed a rigorous assessment process conducted by the Law Society of NSW, and has been selected by the Specialist Accreditation Committee of the Law Society as an expert in the field.

   Accredited Specialists are required to undertake more training each year than other lawyers and must be successful in having their accreditation renewed every year. Specialist Accreditation is the mark of a true specialist.

   Our firm’s specialist experience ensures you receive the best possible result, whatever your criminal law case may be.

9. Results-Focused Law Firm
   

   Our team is passionate about achieving results, and unlike many other law firms, our lawyers do not have monthly financial ‘budgets’ to meet.

   The absence of budgets means our lawyers are entirely focused on achieving optimal results in the shortest space of time; whether by getting charges dropped or downgraded at an early stage or having cases ‘thrown out of court’.

   Not having budgets also means our lawyers are not under pressure to engage in unscrupulous practices such as unnecessarily adjourning cases or ‘overcharging’ clients – which, sadly, is a common complaint against many other lawyers and law firms.

   No budgets encourages regular consultation between lawyers within the firm – promoting an ‘open door’, team environment where lawyers bounce ideas off one another, formulate case strategy together and benefit from each other’s specialised experience, methods, techniques and insights.

   The result is a firm which delivers optimal outcomes in the shortest time periods, at the least expense and stress to our clients.

10. Team of Lawyers Behind You
    

    Our clients benefit from the pool of knowledge that only an extensive team of experienced criminal defence lawyers can provide.

    Our lawyers regularly consult one another to stay ‘ahead of the pack’ in the ever-changing field of criminal law – constantly devising, refining and implementing specialised techniques which ensure our clients achieve the best possible outcomes.

    A team approach is particularly important when it comes to serious criminal cases such as murder, commercial drug cases, serious and sexual assaults, large-scale fraud, robbery and other ‘indictable’ cases.

    In such matters, clients reap the benefits of several lawyers devising and executing case strategies which maximise the chances of having cases dropped or downgraded at an early stage, or ‘thrown out of court’ – often saving clients a great deal of cost, time and anxiety.

11. Familiar with Magistrates and Judges
    

    Each of our lawyers appears in court on a daily basis, and has done so for years. We have therefore been able to develop an understanding of, and rapport with, magistrates and judges in Sydney and indeed across the state.

    Our team’s extensive experience before the courts ensures your case is tailored to the specific nuances of individual judicial officers, maximising the likelihood of a favourable result.

12. Convenience
    

    We have offices in locations across the Sydney Metropolitan Area and beyond, including:

    • the Sydney CBD, on Castlereagh Street, directly opposite Downing Centre Court,
    • Parramatta, opposite the Justice Precinct carpark,
    • Liverpool, and
    • Sutherland.

    We offer free parking at our Sydney CBD offices, and all of our offices are close to train stations and bus terminals.

    For those who are unable to attend our offices, we offer conferences by telephone, Skye and FaceTime anywhere around the world.

    If you are going to court and wish to arrange a free first consultation, call our 24 hour hotline on (02) 9261 8881 or send us an email at info@sydneycriminallawyers.com.au.