Eveready Australia Pty Limited v Collector of Customs

Eveready Australia Pty Limited sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia from a decision of the Full Court. The dispute concerned the entitlement of importers to preferential tariff rates for goods imported from developing countries. Eveready argued that the Full Court's decision created uncertainty for importers, potentially exposing their goods to retrospective challenges by Customs and encouraging tax avoidance schemes.

The central legal issue before the High Court was the proper construction of the relevant provisions of the Customs Tariff Act 1987 (Cth) and the Customs Act 1901 (Cth) concerning the definition of goods being the "produce or manufacture" of a developing country for the purposes of preferential tariff treatment. Specifically, the Court was asked to consider whether the origin of raw materials used in the manufacturing process within a developing country was determinative of the goods' origin for tariff purposes, or if the place of manufacture alone was sufficient.

The applicant contended that the Full Court's interpretation, which appeared to require tracing the origin of all components, was overly restrictive and contrary to the beneficial intent of the preferential tariff legislation. This interpretation, Eveready argued, would make it difficult for importers to ascertain whether their goods qualified, as they might not have direct knowledge of the supply chains of their overseas manufacturers. The legislation, as presented, defined "Preference Country" to include a "Developing country" and stipulated that goods were the produce or manufacture of a country if they were so under section 151 of the Customs Act.