G Global 120E T2 Pty Ltd as trustee for the G Global 120E AUT v Commissioner of State Revenue

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by G Global 120E T2 Pty Ltd, as trustee for the G Global 120E AUT, against a decision of the Commissioner of State Revenue. The dispute concerned the Commissioner's assessment of stamp duty on a transfer of units in a trust.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the transfer of units in the trust constituted a dutiable transaction under the *Duties Act 2000* (Vic) by reason of the trust acquiring or becoming entitled to acquire dutiable property. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the trust's acquisition of units in another trust, which held Victorian land, was an acquisition of dutiable property in its own right, or if it was merely an acquisition of an interest in a trust that held dutiable property.

The Court reasoned that the *Duties Act 2000* (Vic) imposes duty on the acquisition of dutiable property. In this instance, the trust acquired units in another trust, which in turn held Victorian land. The Court held that the acquisition of units in a trust, even where that trust holds dutiable property, does not constitute the acquisition of dutiable property in itself. Rather, it is an acquisition of an interest in the trust, and the dutiable property remains vested in the trustee of the underlying trust. Therefore, the transfer of units was not a dutiable transaction under the Act.

The appeal was allowed, and the Commissioner's assessment was set aside.