Cupo v Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Water

In the case of Cupo v Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Water, the dispute centred on the valuation of certain land for taxation purposes. The appeal was lodged by the taxpayer, Cupo, challenging the valuation assessments made by the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Water. The case was heard in the Queensland Administrative Tribunal.

The central legal issue before the court was the onus of proof in establishing the unimproved value of land in accordance with section 33 of the Valuation of Land Act 1944. Specifically, the court needed to determine the most reliable evidence of unimproved value, particularly in circumstances where only limited sales data was available. This involved assessing the comparative reliability of lightly improved versus vacant land sales, and whether a single sale could establish a trend.

The tribunal acknowledged the expert evidence provided by Mr Rainbow, the Department's valuer, who primarily considered lightly improved sales in New Farm and Newstead. The tribunal, however, found that the sales relied upon were either too old or not representative of the market. It highlighted that while the best evidence would typically be sales of comparable vacant or lightly improved land, the scarcity of such sales might necessitate considering other sales, including those of improved land. The tribunal emphasised the importance of a representative sample of sales to fairly estimate the unimproved value, aligning with the High Court's decision in Maurici v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue and the Land Appeal Court's decision in Department of Natural Resources and Mines v Spender.

Consequently, the tribunal dismissed both appeals brought by Cupo, upholding the original valuations assessed by the Department.

**Orders:** The tribunal dismissed the appeals AV 2006/0109 and AV 2006/0110, thereby affirming the land valuations as determined by the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Water.