Roy Morgan Research Centre v Com of State Revenue

The High Court of Australia heard an appeal from the Supreme Court of Victoria concerning a dispute between Roy Morgan Research Centre Pty Ltd and the Commissioner of State Revenue. The core of the disagreement revolved around the Commissioner's assessment of stamp duty on a deed of assignment of a licence. Roy Morgan Research Centre argued that the deed was not liable for stamp duty, while the Commissioner maintained it was.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the deed of assignment of a licence constituted a dutiable instrument under the relevant Victorian stamp duty legislation. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the assignment of the licence was an "agreement for the sale of property" or an "agreement for the sale of an interest in property" for the purposes of the *Stamps Act 1958* (Vic).

McHugh and Gummow JJ, in their joint judgment, reasoned that the licence granted to Roy Morgan Research Centre was a personal right, not a proprietary interest in land. They applied the principle that a licence, in its nature, is a permission to do something that would otherwise be unlawful, and it does not confer any estate or interest in the land itself. Therefore, the assignment of this personal right did not fall within the definition of a dutiable transaction as an agreement for the sale of property or an interest in property. The appeal was allowed, and the assessment of stamp duty was set aside.