diff --git a/builtin-fetch.c b/builtin-fetch.c
index 5f5b59bfdb..1cb30c52c1 100644
--- a/builtin-fetch.c
+++ b/builtin-fetch.c
@@ -384,7 +384,7 @@ static struct ref *find_non_local_tags(struct transport *transport,
 
 		if (!path_list_has_path(&existing_refs, ref_name) &&
 		    !path_list_has_path(&new_refs, ref_name) &&
-		    lookup_object(ref->old_sha1)) {
+		    has_sha1_file(ref->old_sha1)) {
 			path_list_insert(ref_name, &new_refs);
 
 			rm = alloc_ref(strlen(ref_name) + 1);