There is now a large amount of GST related litigation in Australia. The Australian Taxation Office is taking a much more aggressive stance in relation to the GST having realized that there is widespread non-compliance with GST legislation. Even despite the fact that the GST is now a relatively well-established tax and it should be the case that many of the concepts of the GST are now well settled elements of the law, there is now a growing body raft of litigation surrounding core concepts of the GST and there appears to be a recent trend of this litigation increasing. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal appears to be the forum where the overwhelming majority of litigation related to the GST is litigated. Although the AAT is supposed to be a less formal jurisdiction than a court and meant to provide greater assistance to people with less of the need for formal which is associated with traditional legal services. Although as much as 90% of the cases are heard in the AAT, the vast majority do not proceed to hearing because they are finalized by an agreement, the withdrawal of the application or even sometimes when the ATO gets it wrong there is a dismissal for want of prosecution.

There is also a particularly strong featuring of the property industry in the content of the matters litigated with up to 30% of the cases being related to the property industry and disputes over how taxation is applied to the property industry. In this industry, there appears to be a strong need to review the implications of the Sterling Guardian Case which seek to have this decision reversed even though in practical terms this is nearly impossible. Division 165 in relation to the taxation of the property industry also appears to be marked by considerable dispute over the arrangements in the property sector. Again, whether these proceed to hearing remains to be seen. This overwhelming flow of casework in relation to the property sector appears to be related to the complexity of the legislation and regulation of these aspects of the law. There is the system of input taxing in the property sector which appears to be more complicated than most.

These complications often result from the complicated relationships with third parties which commercial property transactions often involve. It also appears that the cases are now seeking to test a more fundamental application of the law to these issues and eventually a case related to this will eventually be litigated at a very high level. Concepts in GST such as the ‘practical business concept’ and the definition of supplies, the distinction between supplied and acquisitions. If you have an inquiry in relation to GST litigation and would like to speak to a lawyer in relation to this matter we have expert tax lawyers who are available to assist you with these types of claims. You can contact us using the form to the right or by calling our office at the first convenience time for you.