A man jailed for failing to pay all his VAT fines was released because a new law provides for lower fines, meaning he had settled his dues.

Emanuel Portelli had been fined €7,449, which would be converted in imprisonment if it remained unpaid.

His lawyer, Caroline Farrugia, filed an application pleading that, in view of the new law, the fine had to be cut to €2,485. This meant that he had to be released in October.

After hearing a VAT representative testify about the new law, Magistrate Doreen Clarke ordered Mr Portelli’s immediate release.

 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.