Commissioner of State Revenue (Vic) v Arrigo

The case of Commissioner of State Revenue (Vic) v Arrigo involved a dispute over the payment of duty on a property transfer within a unit trust. The respondents, who were unitholders in a property held on trust, appealed against the decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal, which found that duty was payable on the transfer of a subdivided lot from the trustee to a unitholder. The matter was ultimately brought before the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issues were whether the transfer of property from the trustee to a unitholder was subject to duty, and whether the trust deed created an initial unit trust before the registration of the plan of subdivision, with subsequent 'fixed trusts' arising in favour of the unitholders upon registration. This involved interpreting the Duties Act 2000 and the trust deed to determine whether the transfer was exempt from duty under the Act.

The High Court found that the interpretation of the statutory provisions and the trust deed, as well as the application of the Duties Act 2000 to the facts, were questions of law. The Court held that the trust deed did not create an initial unit trust before the registration of the plan of subdivision, and that the subsequent 'fixed trusts' did not exempt the transfer from duty under the Act. Consequently, the Court held that duty was payable on the transfer of the subdivided lot to the unitholder. The appeal was allowed, and the decision of the Court of Appeal was set aside.

The final orders of the Court were that the appeal be allowed, the decision of the Court of Appeal be set aside, and the matter be remitted to the Court of Appeal for further consideration in light of the High Court's decision.