The Criminal Appeals Court has annulled a judgment which found two men guilty of illegally unloading and transporting 60,000 duty-free cigarettes from a ship at the Palumbo Shipyard.
The Magistrates' Court failed to identify all the legal provisions under which they had been convicted.
The appeal was filed by Christopher Azzopardi and Keith Bezzina against a judgment delivered by the Court of Magistrates on 4 May.
Judge Neville Camilleri upheld their first ground of appeal, declared the original judgment null and sent the case back to the Magistrates' Court for a new judgment to be delivered in accordance with the law. The ruling does not erase the entire case or order a fresh trial but orders that the proceedings remain valid up to the point immediately before the original judgment was delivered.
The case dates back to February 2016, when police and customs officers carried out an intervention and search at the Palumbo Shipyard. Azzopardi and Bezzina were accused of acting together to knowingly unload, receive, carry, conceal or otherwise handle a quantity of duty-free cigarettes from a vessel.
The cigarettes consisted of 200 cartons of American Legend cigarettes, each containing 200 cigarettes and 100 cartons of Business Royals cigarettes, each containing 200 cigarettes. The total amounted to 60,000 cigarettes which had an estimated value of €1,740.
Prosecutors claimed the men acted with the intention of defrauding the government of customs duties and taxes or evading customs restrictions. The unpaid excise duty amounted to €10,200, while the import duty was calculated at €1,002 and the VAT at €2,329. The two men were also charged with offences under the VAT Act arising from the same alleged conduct.
They additionally faced accusations that they knowingly made a false declaration or statement in a document intended for a public authority to obtain an advantage for themselves or another person and refusing to provide, or providing false information to a public official carrying out official duties.
Original convictions and sentence
On 4 May 2026, the Court of Magistrates found both Azzopardi and Bezzina guilty. Each man was ordered to pay €40,595 in connection with unpaid duties, excise and VAT. The amount also constituted a civil debt under the law. Each was additionally fined €4,000 and sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years. The Magistrates' Court had also ordered the confiscation of the cigarettes.
Azzopardi and Bezzina appealed the judgment on four grounds, primarily arguing that it was legally null because the Magistrates' Court failed to cite all the laws governing the offences for which they were convicted.
Although the court found them guilty of all the charges, it only referred to provisions under customs, excise and VAT legislation, omitting the Criminal Code articles relating to false declarations and false personal details.
The Criminal Appeals Court agreed that this was not a minor drafting mistake but a breach of an essential requirement under Article 382 of the Criminal Code. This article obliges a court to clearly identify the facts, punishment and legal provisions underlying a conviction.
Mr Justice Neville Camilleri therefore annulled the judgment. Since the first ground of appeal was upheld, the court did not consider the appellants' remaining requests for acquittal, a constitutional referral or a reduced sentence.
Case sent back for fresh judgment
The Appeals Court stressed that the defect did not invalidate the entire criminal proceedings but only the judgment was annulled. The evidence, hearings and all other procedural steps taken before the Magistrates' Court remain valid and unaffected.
The court therefore ordered that Azzopardi and Bezzina be placed back in the same legal position they occupied immediately before the original sentence was delivered.
The case was sent back to the Court of Magistrates, which must now deliver a new judgment that complies fully with this specified Criminal Code article.
The appeal was decided by Judge Neville Camilleri. Defence lawyer Jacob Magri appeared for the two accused.