Trustee for The Lubiana Family Trust and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)

The applicant, the trustee for The Lubiana Family Trust, sought review of the Commissioner of Taxation's disallowance of objections against assessments of wine equalisation tax. The dispute concerned whether amounts attributed to containers, delivery, and the "goodwill, reputation and romance" of ultra-premium wine products should be excluded from the taxable value of wine sold by the applicant. The matter was heard by Deputy Bernard J McCabe P.

The court was required to determine the character of the sales made by the applicant. Specifically, it needed to decide whether each sale constituted a single transaction for packaged, delivered wine, or if it comprised multiple separate sales of wine, containers, "goodwill, reputation and romance," and delivery. This determination was crucial to ascertain whether the invoiced amounts were solely "for" the sale of fermented grape products or if they represented consideration for distinct supplies.

The court reasoned that the definition of "consideration" under the GST Act, which includes any payment in connection with a supply, was inclusive. It held that consideration is what is given "in order to obtain" a supply. Applying this to the facts, the court found that the applicant had not discharged the burden of proving that the invoiced amounts were not entirely in connection with the supply of wine. The court accepted the evidence that the net amount payable on the invoice included the cost of delivery and that the applicant would not be paid the invoiced amount if the products were not "Stefano Lubiana Wines," indicating that the goodwill, reputation, and romance were integral to the price.

The court ordered that the amount for which the applicant's wine was sold by wholesale was the amount invoiced to the customer, and it was not persuaded that any amount should be deducted for the value of the container, goodwill, or delivery elements.