Akers, Stephen John as a joint foreign representative of SAAD Investments Company Limited (in Official Liquidation) (A Company registered in the Cayman Islands) and Ors v Deputy Commissioner of Taxation

Stephen John Akers, as a joint foreign representative of SAAD Investments Company Limited (in Official Liquidation) and others, appealed to the High Court of Australia against a decision of the Federal Court of Australia. The dispute concerned the validity of notices of assessment issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation to SAAD Investments Company Limited, a company registered in the Cayman Islands. The core of the disagreement lay in whether the Commissioner had the power to issue these notices to a foreign company that had no physical presence in Australia.

The High Court was required to determine whether the Commissioner of Taxation had the statutory power to issue notices of assessment to a foreign company that had no presence in Australia, and whether such notices, if issued, could be validly served on the company's foreign representatives. Specifically, the court considered the interpretation of provisions within the *Income Tax Assessment Act 1936* (Cth) and the *Taxation Administration Act 1953* (Cth) concerning the Commissioner's power to assess and the requirements for valid service of notices.

The High Court held that the Commissioner did not have the power to issue notices of assessment to a foreign company that had no presence in Australia. The court reasoned that the relevant legislative provisions contemplated the existence of a taxable presence or connection within Australia for the Commissioner to exercise such powers. Furthermore, the court found that the notices of assessment were not validly served on the foreign representatives, as the statutory requirements for service on foreign entities or their representatives were not met. The appeal was allowed, and the notices of assessment were set aside.