Shop owners are flouting Australia's plain packaged cigarette laws by selling imported fags for less than you'd find them elsewhere in the city. Updated Updated 23/06/2018 Share Uritsky Tobacco Factory Soviet Union: 1932; 89 years ago () Belmont: Philip Morris International: Canada: 1960s; 60 years ago () Benson & Hedges: Altria British American Tobacco (Asia, Australia and New Zealand only) Japan Tobacco International (United Kingdom only) Philip Morris USA (Canada and United States only) United Kingdom KPMG’s annual survey of tobacco consumption in Australia found that illicit tobacco increased from 14 per cent of the market in 2018 to over 20 per cent in 2019. Image: Smuggled cigarettes into Australia. Australian Border Force intercepted the shipment, which contained 149 sofas inside cardboard boxes, in January 2018. The Australian Border Force have disrupted a highly-organised tobacco smuggling syndicate, stopping the flow of nearly three million illicit cigarettes. An Australian man caught smuggling cigarettes into his country received more than he bargained for from Perth judges. For attempting to smuggle 36 cartons of cigarettes through Perth International Airport, the 34-year-old was fined approximately Rp 365 million (AUD 40 thousand). “Investigations continue into what we believe is a nationwide cigarette smuggling operation,” Superintendent Sims said. Tax avoidance and tax evasion therefore undermine the effectiveness of tax policies and result in less revenue for governments, cheaper prices for smokers and increased tobacco use. A 55-year-old Perth man has been sentenced to eight months in prison after smuggling close to 100,000 cigarettes from China to Fremantle inside a shipment of sofas. Superintendent of ABF Investigations WA Clint Sims said it would be alleged the man had been purchasing illegally imported cigarettes from a supplier in another state and selling them on the black market in Western Australia. Background Tax policy is considered the most effective strategy to reduce tobacco consumption and prevalence. Concealed cigarettes and tobacco imported from China by an alleged syndicate. Illicit tobacco from smuggling and illicit tobacco crops makes up 15 per cent to 28 per cent of the total tobacco market and funds organised crime and terrorism. A total of 3.1 million kilograms of tobacco, loose and packaged, were smuggled into the country, avoiding A$3.41 billion (RM10.4 billion) in excise. Illicit Tobacco Taskforce targets international and domestic tobacco smuggling rings The Australian Border Force (ABF) led Illicit Tobacco Taskforce (ITTF) has disrupted the activities of two alleged organised crime syndicates involved in the importation and distribution of illicit tobacco throughout Victoria and Western Australia. Tobacco smuggling and illicit tobacco trade have probably always existed, since tobacco's … The smuggling ring, which is believed to have imported the smoking products from the United Arab Emirates in June, stood to avoid $2 million in tax payments if they had gone undetected. Credit: twitter.com.