For a charge of defrauding the Commonwealth based on putting the revenue at risk through Private Binding Rulings, the Crown must establish that the Commissioner had an arguable case that the rulings were wrong. The majority held this is a fact in issue for the jury (with a preliminary legal ruling by the judge on capability), while Mason P considered the legal arguability component was for the judge. The complexity of directing a jury on tax law issues does not justify a permanent stay of proceedings. A ruling that is incontrovertibly correct cannot be the instrument of defrauding the revenue regardless of the officer's dishonesty.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 15 later cases that cite this judgment.
2 of the 15 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.