diff --git a/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/local-build/kata-deploy-binaries.sh b/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/local-build/kata-deploy-binaries.sh
index 20e69d2c19..ffde7f6fee 100755
--- a/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/local-build/kata-deploy-binaries.sh
+++ b/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/local-build/kata-deploy-binaries.sh
@@ -1177,7 +1177,7 @@ handle_build() {
 		esac
 
 		tags=(latest-${TARGET_BRANCH}-$(uname -m))
-		if [ -n "${artefact_tag}" ]; then
+		if [ -n "${artefact_tag:-}" ]; then
 			tags+=("${artefact_tag}")
 		fi
 		if [ "${RELEASE}" == "yes" ]; then