Shipper Responsible for Tax on Stolen Cigarettes

JTI Polska is responsible for hundreds of thousands of pounds in excise duties on cigarettes stolen during transport, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled June 14, reports Law360.

Thieves took 289 cases from a JTI Polska vehicle parked at a U.K. service station during a trip from Poland to Jakubowski in the U.K.

Jakubowski sought to recover from JTI the excise tax of about £450,000 ($570 million) owed on the stolen goods.

The ruling in a similar case that determined which party pays the tax in the event goods are stolen remains valid, and there is no pressing reason to overturn it, the court said.