Paul J Castan & Son Pty Ltd ATF Castan Investments Unit Trust and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)

Paul J Castan & Son Pty Ltd ATF Castan Investments Unit Trust (the Trustee) and the Commissioner of Taxation (the Commissioner) were parties to a dispute concerning a private binding ruling regarding the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The matter was heard by Senior Member Egon Fice.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the supply of accommodation by the Trustee, through an agent, constituted a taxable supply under the GST Act. Specifically, the Tribunal was required to determine the proper construction and application of section 40-35(1)(a) of the GST Act in relation to the provision of accommodation in commercial residential premises.

The Tribunal accepted the Commissioner's construction of section 40-35(1)(a), finding that the exclusion within that section is intended to apply to supplies of accommodation in commercial residential premises made by the entity that owns or controls those premises. The Tribunal reasoned that this interpretation aligned with the plain meaning and intention of the legislation. In this instance, the supply was made by the owner of Hotel Sophia (the Trustee) via its agent, the Operator. Consequently, the Tribunal found that the Trustee had not discharged its onus under section 14ZZK(b)(ii) of the *Taxation Administration Act 1953* (Cth) to prove that the taxation decision should not have been made or should have been made differently. The Tribunal affirmed the Commissioner's objection decision of 23 July 2015.