Appeals court revokes man's prison sentence, €450,000 fine, for evading taxes on tobacco imports

A judge has upheld an appeal filed by a man who had been fined nearly half a million euro earlier this year after being found guilty of evading import duty, tax and VAT on tobacco and alcoholic beverages.

The court acquitting him after declaring that the prosecution had not exhibited evidence that the items seized were, in fact cigarettes and spirits.

George Vella, a 62-year-old Buġibba resident, had been fined €450,554.73 and sentenced to eight months imprisonment suspended for three years last February after being found guilty of having, in 2007, stashed duty-free cigarettes, tobacco and alcoholic beverages in a Buġibba garage, with the intention of defrauding the Government.

Officers had discovered duty-free cigarettes, whisky, vodka and rum hidden inside his Peugeot Partner van which was parked in the garage.

The goods were valued at €41,296.34 on which €28,510.74 in import duty, €121,674.17 in excise and €34,466.62 in VAT had not been paid.

Vella had filed an appeal, which was decided today by Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera.

The appellant argued that the only evidence besides the notes of seizure, were photographs of closed cardboard boxes, of which one showed plastic pouches and another transparent bottles inside the customs warehouse and not in the place they were originally discovered.

No magisterial inquiry was carried out and neither was a procès-verbal - a collection of expert reports, witness depositions and exhibits which is signed by the inquiring magistrate -compiled.

In her judgement overturning Vella’s conviction, the judge said she would have expected that a magisterial inquiry be appointed to preserve the evidence and establish whether the items seized were what they appeared to be. In the absence of such an inquiry, the prosecution could still have requested the preservation of the evidence and the appointment of an expert to report on the contents of the boxes.

“In the absence of all this, the prosecution ought to have at least exhibited clear photographs showing the open boxes to demonstrate what one expects to have been inside the boxes, that is the cigarettes themselves… with all due respect, black and white photographs of boxes, cigarette labels and some bottles are surely not the best evidence that the prosecution could have brought.”

“Although this court could have presumed, on the basis of the photos exhibited, that the boxes contained cigarettes and alcohol, presumptions have no place in criminal proceedings.”

Vella’s appeal was upheld, and his conviction and fine were overturned.

Lawyer Roberto Montalto was defence counsel.