304 Wanda Street Pty Ltd and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a dispute between 304 Wanda Street Pty Ltd (Wanda) and the Commissioner of Taxation concerning Wanda's claim for an input tax credit. The Commissioner had disallowed this claim, along with an administrative penalty, on the basis that Wanda's acquisition of a property was not a "creditable acquisition" because neither Wanda nor the previous entity, PindiHold, were conducting an enterprise at the time of the acquisition. Wanda sought a review of the Commissioner's objection decision.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether Wanda's acquisition of the Wanda Street property was a "creditable acquisition" for the purposes of the *A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999* (GST Act). This involved assessing whether Wanda received the property solely or partly for a creditable purpose, provided consideration for the supply, received it pursuant to a taxable supply, and was registered or required to be registered for GST, meaning it was carrying on an enterprise. The core of the dispute centred on whether Wanda or PindiHold were engaged in an enterprise at the relevant time.

The Tribunal reasoned that for an acquisition to be creditable, it must be made in carrying on an enterprise and not be of a private or domestic nature. The evidence regarding PindiHold's activities, including surveys and development plans commissioned prior to the property acquisition, suggested an intention to develop the land. However, the Tribunal found that the evidence did not establish that PindiHold was carrying on an enterprise at the time of the acquisition. Similarly, while Wanda had plans for a holiday business, the Tribunal concluded that the evidence did not demonstrate that Wanda was carrying on an enterprise at the time it acquired the property. Consequently, the acquisition could not be considered a "creditable acquisition" under section 11-5 of the GST Act.

The Tribunal affirmed the Commissioner's decision to disallow Wanda's input tax credit claim. The issue of the administrative penalty was to be determined separately.