Conviction over unpaid taxes on imported alcohol quashed on appeal
A man who had been found guilty of importing alcoholic beverages without paying customs duties and taxes 18 years ago was yesterday acquitted on appeal and spared a suspended sentence and an €18,000 fine.
The case dated back to 2006 when Gordon Grech got into trouble over two pallets of alcoholic beverages allegedly found among other contents in a trailer he had imported from Sicily.
Other merchandise, including water and toilet paper, was duly declared with the customs authorities but the alcoholic drinks were not.
They were spotted by customs officials while inspecting the goods as they were unloaded from the trailer.
The bottles were seized and criminal charges were filed against Grech who pleaded not guilty to evading customs duty and VAT on 60 boxes of J&B whisky, 15 boxes of Jack Daniel’s whisky, 20 boxes of Averna, 10 boxes of Chivas Regal and eight boxes of Bacardi.
The total value of the beverages was Lm4,046, over which Lm2,574.30 (€5,920) were due in customs duty and Lm1,191.65 in VAT.
In 2022, Grech was found guilty by the magistrates’ court and was handed a two-month jail term suspended for two years, as well as a fine of €17,991. The court also ordered the confiscation of the beverages.
Grech lodged an appeal, arguing that the prosecution had failed to produce sufficient evidence and he had lacked legal assistance when he gave a statement to the police. He also pleaded that there were conflicting testimonies and that the punishment was not proportionate to the alleged offences and evidence put forward.
When testifying before the magistrates’ court, Grech explained that he had travelled to Palermo to purchase some beverages prior to his wedding. He had shipped the merchandise inside a container.
When asked about the contents of that container on
arrival, Grech claimed it contained “drinks, water and that sort of staff ”.
Upon appeal, his lawyer pointed out that the prosecution had only produced a ‘letter to prosecute’ and a seizure note issued by the customs authorities as well as several witnesses who rattled off figures and descriptions of the allegedly alcoholic beverages.
However, at no point did the prosecution ask the court to appoint an expert to confirm
the nature of the contents of the bottles. Neither did the prosecution produce photos of the seized items to show the actual contents of the boxes and the state in which they had been found.
Following the alleged discovery, no magisterial inquiry was called. Such an inquiry would have roped in experts to determine the contents of the boxes. Consequently, the court’s decision would have been based on evidence put forward rather than mere presumptions, argued the appellant’s lawyer, Nicholas Mifsud.
When delivering judgment, the Court of Criminal Appeal, presided by Mr Justice Neville Camilleri, stated that the prosecution was bound to put forward the best evidence to convince the court that the charges were true.
The basic principle constantly applied by the courts was that the charges had to be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
In this case, Grech had been questioned by the police back in October 2006 without being assisted by a lawyer and without even consulting his personal lawyer. At the time, Maltese law did not provide for the right to legal assistance at the pre-arraignment stage.
Before proving that the due taxes were not paid, the prosecution needed to produce evidence of the relative goods. In this case, the prosecution failed to do this, said the court, observing that no photos of the seized items were presented in evidence.
The first court could not “reasonably and legally” reach the conclusion that the accused was guilty, said Mr Justice Camilleri, thus upholding the appeal, quashing the conviction and clearing Grech of all criminal wrongdoing.
Lawyer Nicholas Mifsud assisted the appellant.