diff --git a/packaging/checkout-and-build.sh b/packaging/checkout-and-build.sh
index 0234461c8b..3de3822ea5 100755
--- a/packaging/checkout-and-build.sh
+++ b/packaging/checkout-and-build.sh
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
-git describe --tags > "VERSION"
+echo $TAG > "VERSION"
 
 msg "\E[32m" "Starting make..."
 make prefix=/usr DESTDIR=../built install