In the matter of LIG Australia Pty Ltd; In the matter of Success Aluminium Pty Ltd

The two respondents, LIG Australia Pty Ltd and Success Aluminium Pty Ltd, sought to set aside a statutory demand issued under section 459B of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). The applicants argued that the statutory demand was invalid due to several reasons: the verifying affidavit was not sworn prior to the demand, the demand did not verify the debt as required by section 459E(3) of the Act, and the debt was unrecoverable due to illegality under Part XVB of the Customs Act 1901 (Cth). Additionally, the applicants claimed that the demand was an abuse of process. The case was heard in the Federal Court of Australia.

The court had to determine whether the verifying affidavit was sworn prior to the statutory demand, whether the affidavit verified the debt correctly, whether the debts were unrecoverable due to illegality under the Customs Act, and whether the demand was an abuse of process. The central issue was the validity of the statutory demand and the conditions under which it could be set aside.

The court found that the verifying affidavit was indeed sworn prior to the statutory demand, thus satisfying the requirement of section 459E(3) of the Corporations Act. The court further held that the affidavit correctly verified the debt in question. Regarding the illegality argument, the court determined that the debts were not unrecoverable due to illegality under Part XVB of the Customs Act. Lastly, the court dismissed the claim of abuse of process, finding no merit in the argument that the statutory demand was made in bad faith or to achieve an improper purpose. Consequently, the application to set aside the statutory demand was dismissed.

The Federal Court of Australia dismissed the application to set aside the statutory demand issued against the respondents.