BEN NEVIS FORESTRY VENTURES LIMITED AND ORS V CIR SC 43/2007
The Court granted leave to appeal to the Supreme Court limited to specified grounds concerning statutory entitlement to deductions/timing, the characterization of the Trinity venture as tax avoidance, and validity of consequential assessments and penalties, and imposed a condition that appellants provide security...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- SC 43/2007
- Parties
- Appellants: Ben Nevis Forestry Ventures Limited and Ors; Appellants: Accent Management Limited and Ors; Respondent: Commissioner of Inland Revenue
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Jurisdiction
- New Zealand
- Judgment Date
- 9 October 2007
- Procedural Posture
- Supreme Court Appeal (tax) / Leave to Appeal Granted; Security for Costs Ordered
- Outcome
- Leave to appeal granted (limited issues); security for costs ordered; leave to appeal NZCA 231 not granted
- Legal Topics
- Deductions, Timing of Claims, Tax Avoidance, Assessments, Penalties, Security for Costs
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Ben Nevis Forestry Ventures Limited and Ors
Appellants
Accent Management Limited and Ors
Appellants
Commissioner of Inland Revenue
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Supreme Court Appeal (tax) / Leave to Appeal Granted; Security for Costs Ordered
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the appellants satisfy statutory requirements for deductions and the timing of claims
- 2 Whether the Trinity forestry venture was rightly characterised as a tax avoidance arrangement
- 3 If tax avoidance, whether respondent's consequential actions and assessments (including penalties) were valid
Ratio Decidendi
The Court granted leave to appeal to the Supreme Court limited to specified grounds concerning statutory entitlement to deductions/timing, the characterization of the Trinity venture as tax avoidance, and validity of consequential assessments and penalties, and imposed a condition that appellants provide security for costs of $25,000 by a specified date; leave to appeal the separate Court of Appeal judgment [2007] NZCA 231 was not granted.
Court Disposition
Leave to appeal granted (limited issues); security for costs ordered; leave to appeal NZCA 231 not granted
Orders
- Leave to appeal to the Supreme Court granted on the specified grounds (1)–(4) set out in the judgment
- Appellants must provide security for costs to the satisfaction of the Registrar in the sum of $25,000 no later than Friday 26 October 2007
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
1 paragraphs
BEN NEVIS FORESTRY VENTURES LIMITED AND ORS V CIR SC 43/2007 9 October 2007IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW ZEALAND SC 43/2007 [2007] NZSC 82BETWEEN BEN NEVIS FORESTRY VENTURES LIMITED AND ORS Appellants AND COMMISSIONER OF INLAND REVENUE RespondentSC 44/2007BETWEEN ACCENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED AND ORS Appellants AND COMMISSIONER OF INLAND REVENUE Respondent Court: Tipping, McGrath and Anderson JJ Counsel: C R Carruthers QC, R B Stewart QC and G J Harley for Appellants in SC 43/2007 C T Gudsell QC for Appellants in SC 44/2007 D J White QC and J H Coleman for Respondent Judgment: 9 October 2007JUDGMENT OF THE COURT [1] Leave is granted to the appellants on both applications to appeal the judgment of the Court of Appeal [2007] NZCA 230. We do not understand the applications to be seeking leave to appeal thejudgment of the Court of Appeal [2007] NZCA 231. We would, in any event, not be disposed to grant leave to appeal that judgment. [2] The approved grounds for the appeal for which leave is granted are: (1) Whether the appellants satisfy the statutory requirements relied on to found both the claim for deductions and the timing of claims in terms of any requirements that they be spread over a period. (2) Whether the Trinity forestry venture was rightly treated by the respondent as a tax avoidance arrangement. (3) If that question is answered in the affirmative, whether the respondent's consequential actions and assessments (including the imposition of penalties) were validly undertaken. (4) To the extent not expressly covered in the foregoing grounds, whether the Court of Appeal was correct to uphold the assessments made by the respondent against the appellants. [3] It is a condition of the grant of leave that the appellants provide security for costs to the satisfaction of the Registrar in the sum of $25,000, no later than Friday 26 October 2007.Solicitors: Wynyard Wood, Auckland for Appellants in SC 43/2007 Wynyard Wood, Auckland for Appellants in SC 44/2007 Crown Law Office, Wellington for Respondent