Nougat merchant to appeal €800 VAT fine

A street merchant who sells nougat at feasts and public events is expected to appeal after being slapped with an €800 fine for selling the tooth-melting confection without charging VAT, claiming that nougat is a VAT-exempt product.

Justin Caruana of Marsaskala had been charged with issuing an incorrect or misleading fiscal receipt in February last year, after a surprise inspection during the Valletta carnival found that he had been issuing receipts punched as exempt from VAT.

Caruana had been prosecuted after he was found to be selling the traditional confection from a street stall.

In a sentence handed down on 1 Feburary this year, magistrate Doreen Clarke declared that nougat was not exempt from VAT and condemned the man to a fine of €800.

His lawyer, legal procurator Peter Paul Zammit told reporters that he intended to give notice of appeal today, arguing that local VAT legislation stated that manufactured sweets, when sold pre-wrapped, are indeed exempt from the tax.