The passage of time by itself does not waive debts; any debtor wanting to cite time-barring in their defence must do this through set procedures, Justice Minister Chris Said told Anthony Agius Decelis (PL).

Answering a parliamentary question, Dr Said added that debts as a result of court sentences could only be time-barred by the passage of 30 years. Although nobody really liked to pay up, debts to the public coffers must be paid.

In his question Mr Agius Decelis had asked why the Advocate General was sending out legal correspondence “in representation of the Commissioner of Inland Revenue” for the payment of unpaid but time-barred legal expenses. Did the minister realise the anxiety of senior citizens who did not know about the time-barring?

Would re-funds be made to whoever had paid up because they did not know about the time-barring?

Dr Said said no notices for payment had been sent out for cases going back as long as 30 years.

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