> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2T3.1 Evading Import Duties or Restrictions (Smuggling): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2t3-1-evading-import-duties-or-restrictions-smuggling/ - Published: 2026-11-03T01:40:07.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:40:07.000Z - Description: Under §2T3.1, evading import duties or restrictions (smuggling) and receiving or trafficking in smuggled property, federal courts sentenced 84 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Prison was ordered for 44 (52%), with a median prison term of 5.1 months. Only 1 person was convicted after a trial. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › §2T3.1 **In brief:** Under §2T3.1, evading import duties or restrictions (smuggling) and receiving or trafficking in smuggled property, federal courts sentenced 84 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Prison was ordered for 44 (52%), with a median prison term of 5.1 months. Only 1 person was convicted after a trial. Updated November 2, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 84 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## What §2T3.1 Covers The title is "Evading Import Duties or Restrictions (Smuggling); Receiving or Trafficking in Smuggled Property." It covers evading import duties or restrictions, and it also covers receiving or trafficking in smuggled property. The Sentencing Commission counted 84 people with §2T3.1 as the primary guideline in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It lists them under the offense type Tax. ## Short Prison Terms and Probation Of the 84 people, 44 (52%) received a prison term and 31 (37%) received probation only. The median prison term was 5.1 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 16.5 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less. The 0 means that a quarter of the group had no prison time. No mandatory minimum applied: 0 (0%). The median prison term of 5.1 months covers the 44 people sent to prison. The Commission reports the lowest quarter as 0 months. The lowest quarter therefore includes people with no prison time. ## Almost No Trials Guilty pleas numbered 83 of 84 (99%), and 1 person was convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement and 4% were straight pleas. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 5 months. After the one trial it was 40 months. A single case is not a basis for comparing plea and trial sentences. Because only 1 person went to trial, the trial figure should be set aside. The plea figures describe nearly the whole group. ## Range, Release, and Money Orders The sentence was within the guideline range for 40 people (48%). It was below the range at the government's request for 24 (29%) and without a request for 12 (14%). It was above the range for 8 (10%). Supervised release was ordered for 39 people (46%), with a median term of 24 months. A fine was ordered for 19 (23%), and restitution for 23 (27%). ## Criminal History In criminal history, 92% were in the lowest category I and 0% were in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so there is nothing to compare. ## Median Prison Terms Differ by Period Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 27 people and a median prison term of 0.5 months. Fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 57 people and a median of 7.1 months. The median is higher in the later period. The yearly table shows 0 months in 2018 and 2019, 24 months in 2022, and 4.4 months in 2025\. The records do not show why the figures differ. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 10 | 5.3 months | 100% | | 2017 | 6 | 8 months | 5 of 6 | | 2018 | 8 | 0 months | 8 of 8 | | 2019 | 3 | 0 months | 3 of 3 | | 2020 | 9 | 0.8 months | 9 of 9 | | 2021 | 6 | 9.1 months | 6 of 6 | | 2022 | 14 | 24 months | 100% | | 2023 | 7 | 12 months | 7 of 7 | | 2024 | 9 | 1.9 months | 9 of 9 | | 2025 | 12 | 4.4 months | 100% | ## What Is Left Out Only convicted and sentenced people appear, and prison terms are the ones imposed. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2T3.1 (84), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records. ### What to Keep in Mind **No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served. **Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial. **Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart. **Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually. **How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less. ## Related Analysis - [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [§2T1.1 Tax Evasion: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2t1-1-tax-evasion/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2T1.4 Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2t1-4-aiding-assisting-procuring-counseling-or-advising-tax/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2T1.6 Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2t1-6-failing-to-collect-or-truthfully-account-for/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2T1.9 Conspiracy to Impede, Impair, Obstruct, or Defeat Tax: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2t1-9-conspiracy-to-impede-impair-obstruct-or-defeat/) (same guideline chapter part) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) **About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.