The District Prosecutor’s Office in Debrecen has charged the two men who transported tobacco waste from a farm with the crime of facilitating the abuse of excise duty.
According to the indictment, the older defendant worked at a waste management site in Debrecen. Based on the contract concluded with the site, a tobacco processing company deposited its waste left over from the processing of tobacco here, which is utilized at the site by mixing it with sewage sludge and composting the mixture.
On November 19, 2021, two shipments from the tobacco processing company arrived at the site, where the older man’s task was to pick up the emptied waste with a machine, push it against the wooden leaf under the sludge and press the mixture into the sewage sludge. During his work, he noticed that when he picked up the tobacco waste with the machine, some of it was scattered next to the spoon. Then he decided to get the tobacco for himself, so he put a small leaf on the scattered waste. Due to the large amount, the accused could not take the mixture home in a bag, so he told his acquaintance, the younger accused, to deliver it in his van. Knowing about the intention of the other accused, the younger offender drove into the site, where his companion loaded the flatbed vehicle shown in the picture, then drove in front of a property in Debrecen, where he stopped the car and left it with the cargo.
The following morning, the competent tax authority patrols conducted an excise inspection at the property and found the tobacco product packed on the pallet and mixed between leaves, which were later transported and sorted. During the investigation carried out by the competent criminal directorate of the National Tax and Customs Administration, it was established that the weight of the dried tobacco transported by the defendants was nearly 600 kilograms.
Based on the governing legislation, dried tobacco is considered an excise product, and the quantity reached a significant amount, so a special permit would have been required to acquire it, which the men did not have.
The Debrecen District Prosecutor’s Office brought charges against the older defendant and his accomplice, who confessed to the crime, for the crime of facilitating the abuse of excise duty on a significant amount of raw materials at the Debrecen District Court. In its indictment, the district prosecutor’s office proposed that the district court, based on the case files, issue a criminal sentence without a trial, in which it imposes a suspended prison sentence and a fine on the defendants.
