Faloon v Commissioner of Inland Revenue HC Auckland M757-Sd/01

The case involved Clarence John Faloon who brought a claim against the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, the Attorney-General, and Central Equipment Company Limited. The Commissioner and the Attorney-General sought to strike out Faloon's statement of claim on the grounds that it disclosed no reasonable cause of action, was unnecessarily prolix, likely to cause prejudice and embarrassment, was an abuse of the process of the court, and was frivolous or vexatious. Faloon's claim against the Commissioner pertained to the disallowance of a GST input tax credit claimed by Central Equipment Company Limited. However, the Court found that Faloon had no standing to challenge the Commissioner's decision as he was not the taxpayer. Additionally, Faloon's claim against the Minister of Lands was dismissed as there was no tenable cause of action disclosed.

The Court concluded that the proceedings were struck out and the defendants were entitled to costs on the application. The Court fixed the costs in accordance with the Third Schedule to the High Court Rules as for a Category 2 proceeding, band B, including reasonable travelling expenses for two counsel, to be fixed if necessary by the Registrar.