Ireland: Garlic duty evasion appeal given priority
Begley received 6 years - the maximum sentence, despite a guilty plea, for declaring garlic he was importing from China as apples.
It was argued during his trial that the import duty was over high, being as much as 232% whilst other fresh items were only attracting 9%.
Patrick Gageby SC, for Begley, yesterday asked the court to, "on humanitarian grounds," give the case a priority listing at next week’s list to fix appeal hearing dates.
Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman said he was prepared to give the appeal a priority listing. Other cases previously given priority would remain in the list ahead of Begley’s appeal, he added.
The appeal is due to be mentioned again next Monday at the Court of Criminal Appeal when dates will be fixed for the hearing of appeals before the three-judge court. Begley’s appeal is expected to be heard in either October or November at the earliest.
When imposing sentence, Judge Martin Nolan described Begley as a decent man, but said he had engaged in a "grave" and "huge" tax-evasion scheme.
The judge said he had to impose a significant prison term in circumstances where, because such offences were hard to uncover, the only effective deterrent was a lengthy jail term for those who were caught.
He said while import tax on garlic "may or may not" be excessive, it was not for individuals to decide.
Source: irishtimes.com
