Chobani Pty Ltd and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)

This case concerned an appeal by Chobani Pty Ltd against a decision by the Commissioner of Taxation disallowing its objection to a GST assessment. The dispute centred on whether Chobani's "Flip Strawberry Shortcake" flavoured yoghurt product was a GST-free supply. The matter came before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine the characterisation of the supply of the "Flip Strawberry Shortcake" product for GST purposes. Specifically, the Tribunal had to decide whether the product constituted "food that is a combination" excluded from GST-free status under section 38-3(1)(c) of the *A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999* (Cth). This involved interpreting whether the product was a combination of one or more foods, at least one of which was biscuit goods, confectionary, or food of a similar kind, and whether the yoghurt base "consisted principally of biscuits".

The Tribunal considered various factors, including the product's ingredients and composition, packaging, marketing, and cost of goods sold. It noted that the product comprised approximately 90% flavoured yoghurt and 10% dry inclusions, which were a mixture of cookie pieces and white chocolate chips. The Tribunal found that the product was not a single supply of flavoured yoghurt but rather a combination of foods. It reasoned that the cookie pieces and chocolate chips, constituting 7% and 3% of the product by weight respectively, fell within the excluded categories of biscuit goods and confectionary. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the supply was not GST-free.

The Tribunal affirmed the Commissioner's decision, finding that Chobani had not discharged the burden of proving that the supply was GST-free. The Tribunal also noted that while the proceedings were framed as a "test case" concerning the applicability of a public ruling, Chobani had not relied on the specific public ruling in question for the transaction that formed the basis of the assessment under review. Therefore, the Tribunal declined to express a view on the ruling's broader applicability.