E.G. Tiger Outsourcing Ltd

The matter of *E.G. Tiger Outsourcing Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation* [2023] FCA 1188 concerned an appeal by E.G. Tiger Outsourcing Ltd (the taxpayer) against a decision of the Commissioner of Taxation (the Commissioner) to disallow the taxpayer's objection to an assessment of goods and services tax (GST) for the period 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018. The dispute centred on whether certain payments received by the taxpayer from its overseas parent company constituted consideration for taxable supplies made by the taxpayer in Australia.

The Federal Court of Australia was required to determine whether the payments received by the taxpayer were in fact consideration for taxable supplies made in Australia, or if they were reimbursements of expenses incurred by the taxpayer on behalf of its parent company. This involved an analysis of the nature of the relationship between the taxpayer and its parent, and the characterisation of the payments within the framework of the *A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999* (Cth).

Justice Irgang found that the payments were indeed consideration for taxable supplies. Her Honour reasoned that the taxpayer's activities, which included providing administrative, marketing, and other support services to its parent, were undertaken for the benefit of the parent company and were not merely reimbursements of expenses. The court applied the principles of identifying a supply and consideration under the GST legislation, emphasising that the critical question was whether there was a sufficient nexus between the supply and the payment received. The court concluded that the taxpayer had made taxable supplies in Australia for which it received consideration, and therefore, the GST was payable.