A judge has turned down a request by Joseph Pavia, the owner of Mambra Electronics, an electronics company which folded over a year ago, for his Sta Maria Estate not to be repossessed by the VAT Department.

Mr Pavia had argued that the villa he resided in could not be sold to help pay off debts because it did not belong to him but to a company in which he was a director.

The Inland Revenue Department and the Commissioner of VAT had successfully applied for the issue of a warrant of prohibitory injunction stopping Joseph Pavia from selling the upmarket property.

Mr Justice Geoffrey Valencia turned down Mr Pavia’s request as a precautionary measure to protect the rights of the VAT Commissioner until the case was heard in Court.

Mr Justice Valencia said that Mr Pavia owned several companies in which he was major shareholder, director, legal and judicial representative and company secretary.

As director of Mambra Electronics Ltd, he had written to the VAT Department informing it that he was selling this property, which he described as “my property” to settle his VAT, tax and eco-contribution bills.

At a glance, Mr Justice Valencia said, it was not excluded that Mr Pavia was using these companies as a smokescreen to avoid his fiscal duties under the protection awarded to him by the law.

Mr Pavia owes the government a total of €1,313,565, including €350,000 in VAT and eco contributions and €500,000 in fines and penalties for late payments to the VAT Department.