BAC Holdings Limited v Commissioner of Taxation [2020] FCA 413

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

BAC Holdings Limited v Commissioner of Taxation [2020] FCA 413 File number: QUD 42 of 2019

Judge: LOGAN J

Date of judgment: 31 March 2020

Catchwords: TAXATION – income tax – where the applicant received approval to construct a new parallel runway (NPR) – where the applicant applied to the Commissioner under the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) (TAA) for a private ruling as to whether certain initial activities associated with the construction of the NPR were themselves a "project" for the purposes of subdivision 40-I of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) – whether the two phases of construction of the NPR comprise discrete "projects" or whether the construction of the NPR was but one "project" PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – where the private ruling was sought in respect of income years including 2011 to 2017 for which assessments had been made and issued (assessment income years) – whether the appeal was competent in the absence of the exclusion of the assessment income years in the notice of appeal – where this ground of objection to competency does not go to all bases upon which the applicant has sought to invoke the court's jurisdiction – whether the objection to competency is itself incompetent – whether the appeal was otherwise incompetent on the ground that the applicant was not a person "dissatisfied" with the objection decision, in terms of s 14ZZ(1)(a)(ii) of the TAA, as the scheme ruled on the in the private ruling was not implemented and never could be implemented in the terms described – whether there is a "matter" capable of the valid exercise of Commonwealth judicial power

Legislation: Constitution Ch III Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) subdiv 40-I Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) ss 14ZZ, 359-60