Forklift driver to pay huge tax bill after being caught with millions of illegal cigarettes at port

A forklift driver will have to pay a huge tax sum after being caught with millions of illicit cigarettes at Lynn’s docks.Despite an appeal, Igor Kolosov was deemed by HMRC to be the ‘holder’ of the 3,602,800 counterfeit goods – and that he displayed “willful ignorance” by claiming he believed he was unloading vegetarian food.A hearing took place towards the end of last year which found him liable for the offence, although he has argued he will be unable to pay the £1,109,311 tax bill handed to him.

The matter dates back to October 28, 2019, when Norfolk Police discovered that a HGV had unloaded pallets of cigarettes at the Kai Timber and Fencing premises at Lynn Port.Investigators had recovered CCTV footage from the area, with the lorry having entered the UK at Tilbury docks after a journey from Poland, before heading to Lynn.Mr Kolosov, a forklift driver and an employee at Kai Timber and Fencing, had been observed unloading several pallets from the lorry. The police cut through padlocks at the premises and identified 19 pallets containing clear wrapped boxes labelled ‘Richmond King-size cigarettes’. The consignment was, however, described as ‘frozen foods’.Kolosov’s employer at Kai Timber and Fencing, Gus Auker, was said to have been unaware of the arrangement for the delivery and unloading of the goods. Kolosov was interviewed and arrested on suspicion of the fraudulent evasion of excise goods. He told HMRC officers that he had accepted payment of £50 to assist in unloading the goods.He said he had known the individual offering the payment for seven to eight years, having worked with him at a chocolate factory.He claimed he asked this individual if the goods were illegal, and was told no. However, analysis of Kolosov’s mobile phone showed photos of tobacco sent to him in September 2018 from a number registered to an address in Dover.It was not until the summer of 2020 that the goods were officially confirmed as counterfeit and seized by HMRC.In 2022, the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed to HMRC that no criminal charges would be brought against Kolosov for the fraudulent evasion of excise duty.This led to his latest appeal, but it has been dismissed – meaning he will have to pay the £1million-plus bill. A report on the hearing outlined that ‘holding’ the goods refers to anybody who was in ‘physical possession’ of the cigarettes, meaning Kolosov was liable.A HMRC conclusion statement said: “It is irrelevant whether the appellant has any right or an interest in the goods, and it is also irrelevant whether or not the appellant is, or should be, aware that the goods were subject to or have become chargeable to excise duty.“Accordingly, therefore, the appeal is dismissed.”