Victorian brothers who admitted swapping cigarettes with potato-based imitations or lookalikes to avoid paying millions in taxes are appealing their jail sentences.
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Altona brothers Hassan and Dib Barakat were jailed in November 2019 over the plot swapping real cigarettes with fakes made from potato and molasses.
Both men pleaded guilty to the commonwealth charge of intent to defraud the revenue.
The goods were swapped during transport from the Customs cargo terminal to another licensed warehouse.
Younger brother Hassan Barakat was the "principal" in the scheme but his sentence of four-years-and-three months was "manifestly excessive", his lawyer argued.
"This is the second-highest sentence imposed on an accused for tobacco smuggling," barrister Peter Chadwick QC told the Court of Appeal on Wednesday.
Three times between December 2014 and June 2015 Hassan tried to avoid paying almost $4 million in import duties on nearly 8.5 million cigarettes.
Profit was estimated to be more than $1.2 million if the scheme was successful.
The sentencing judge gave "insufficient weight" to the years of delay from the offending in 2014 and the sentence handed down in 2019, he said.
His client had demonstrated his remorse, had no prior convictions and was an excellent prospect of rehabilitation.
Dib Barakat was responsible for driving some of the substituted goods between the warehouses and attempted to deprive the government of almost $1.2 million.
His lawyer argued his role was minimal and that his 20-month sentence should instead have been an immediate recognisance order.
Prosecutors argued the sentences were within the range for the charges, but Justice Phillip Priest said Hassan Barakat's was "stern".
The court of appeal justices reserved their decision for a later date.
Australian Associated Press
