Driver Group Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue [2013] VCAT 1151
This matter concerned the availability of the exemption from motor vehicle duty contained in s. 237 of the Duties Act 2000 (DA) in relation to 43 buses, which were each first registered by the taxpayer in South Australia (where duty is not payable) and subsequently registered in Victoria within 12 months.
The taxpayer conceded motor vehicle duty was payable on some buses which operated exclusively in Victoria. The Tribunal held that s. 237 did not apply to exempt duty on the remaining buses and concluded that ‘the initial registration in South Australia was…clearly for a tax avoidance purpose.’ The taxpayer was, therefore, liable to pay motor vehicle duty for all 43 buses.
The Tribunal held the taxpayer did not take reasonable care to comply with s. 237 and fixed penalty tax at 25 per cent, and reduced it by 80 per cent under s. 31(1) of the TAA for voluntary disclosure before the commencement of the investigation. It affirmed that interest was chargeable at the market rate from the date of the original assessments.
