Permanent Trustee Australia Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue

Permanent Trustee Australia Ltd (the taxpayer) sought judicial review of a decision by the Commissioner of State Revenue (the Commissioner) concerning the assessment of stamp duty. The dispute centred on whether certain transactions constituted a dutiable 'conveyance' for the purposes of the *Stamp Duties Act 1920* (NSW). The taxpayer argued that the transactions, which involved the transfer of units in a unit trust, were not dutiable conveyances. The matter came before Gummow J in chambers.

The primary legal issue before the Court was to determine whether the transfer of units in a unit trust, where the trust held land, constituted a 'conveyance' within the meaning of the *Stamp Duties Act 1920* (NSW). This required an examination of the nature of a unit trust and the rights of unit holders in relation to the trust property, as well as the definition of 'conveyance' under the Act.

Gummow J reasoned that the transfer of units in a unit trust did not, in itself, constitute a conveyance of the underlying trust property. His Honour applied the established principle that unit holders possess personal rights against the trustee, rather than a proprietary interest in the trust assets. Consequently, a transfer of units represented a transfer of these personal rights, not a transfer of the land itself. Therefore, the transactions were not dutiable as conveyances under the Act.