Vicinity Funds v Commissioner of State Revenue

[2022] VSCA 176

Victorian Court of Appeal

Built by Barristers,
For Australian Law.

See how it works

Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Taxation
2. › Administration
3. › Objections, reviews and appeals
4. › Taxpayer's choice of forum for review or appeal
5. › Whether taxpayer entitled to make successive requests under s 106(1)(a) and s 106(1)(b)
6. › Whether Commissioner's duty under s 106(3) spent after acting on first request
7. › Taxation Administration Act 1997 (Vic), ss 96, 101, 106
1. Statutory Interpretation
2. › Text, context and purpose
3. › Construction of provision conferring alternative pathways
4. › Whether alternative preconditions give rise to cumulative or single entitlement
5. › Consequences of competing constructions
6. › Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (Vic), ss 35(a), 40(a)
1. Administrative Law
2. › Mandamus
3. › Availability of mandamus to compel Commissioner to determine objection
4. › Whether mandamus excluded by privative clause
5. › Taxation Administration Act 1997 (Vic), ss 96(2), 101(1), 103

Quick Take

Section 106(1) of the Taxation Administration Act 1997 (Vic) provides a taxpayer with a single choice between referral to VCAT and appeal to the Supreme Court; once that choice is exercised and the Commissioner has acted upon it, the Commissioner's function under s 106(3) is spent and no second request can be made in relation to the same objection. A taxpayer who wishes to make an informed choice before selecting a forum may seek mandamus to compel the Commissioner to determine the objection under s 101(1) within a reasonable time.