Sannat archpriest Tarcisio Camilleri has been ordered by a tribunal to refund €300 on the sale of a new grave to Albert Zammit.

Presided over by Vincent Galea, the Small Claims Tribunal found that the Sannat parish had no right to charge €320 in administrative costs, over and above the €1,760 selling price for new graves at the village cemetery.

Asked for an explanation of these costs, Fr Camilleri told the court they included photocopies, petrol for transport connected with the signing of the contracts and other expenses.

Victor Guzman, on behalf of the Gozo Curia, claimed that clients were told about an extra cost prior to signing their contracts and it was up to them to decide whether they wanted to proceed or not.

However, the court pointed out that the Sannat parish had no right to charge its clients without an explanation of the administrative costs.

Clients were told about an extra cost prior to signing their contracts and it was up to them to decide whether to proceed

Although the court said there no bad intention behind the decision of the parish, it ordered it to refund €300 of the extra costs as it was only eligible for €20 in compensation for expenses related to the common parts of the graves.