''Ha v New South Wales''. is a

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established following passage of the '' Judiciary Act 1903''. ...

case that dealt with section 90 of the

Australian Constitution The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a constitutional document that is supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a federation under a constitutional monarchy and outlines the structure and powers of the A ...

, which prohibits States from levying

excise file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

Facts

The plaintiffs were charged under the ''Business Franchise Licences (Tobacco) Act 1987'' (NSW) with selling tobacco in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

without a licence. The Act provided for a licence fee, which consisted of a fixed amount, plus an amount calculated by reference to the value of tobacco sold during the 'relevant period'. The 'relevant period' was defined as 'the month commencing 2 months before the commencement of the month in which the licence expires'. The plaintiffs argued that the licence fee imposed by the Act was an excise and hence invalid due to section 90 of the Constitution.

Decision

A slim majority of the Court (Brennan CJ, McHugh, Gummow and Kirby JJ) ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, adopting the broad view of an excise per '' Matthews v Chicory Marketing Board (Vic)''.. They ruled an excise was a tax on sale, production and manufacture of goods prior to consumption, applying to goods whether produced locally or not. Excises could apply to any step in dealing with the goods. The Court viewed the scheme as purely about revenue raising without a discernible regulatory element, giving it the appearance of a tax. Under this broad view, the 'licence fee' imposed by the state government was in fact an excise, which Australian states are constitutionally barred from imposing. The Court distinguished the decision from the earlier franchise fee cases (''

Dennis Hotels Pty Ltd v Victoria ''Dennis Hotels Pty Ltd v Victoria'',. is a High Court of Australia case that deals with section 90 of the Australian Constitution, which prohibits States from levying customs or excise duties. Although some of the judges used the now-discred ...

'',. and '' Dickenson's Arcade Pty Ltd v Tasmania'' .) because the period of backdating (two months instead of six) and the backdating mechanism were sufficiently different. ''Ha'' also featured a strong dissent, with the minority of the Court (Dawson, Toohey and Gaudron JJ) adopting the traditional narrow view of an excise. They rejected the ''

Parton v Milk Board (Vic) ''Parton v Milk Board (Vic)'',. is a High Court of Australia case that dealt with the meaning of excise in relation to section 90 of the Australian Constitution. In this case, the tax was calculated as a fixed amount per gallon of milk, and ...

'' excise definition.. The minority saw an excise as specifically a tax on the local manufacture or production of goods.

References

{{reflist * Winterton, G. et al. ''Australian federal constitutional law: commentary and materials'', 1999. LBC Information Services, Sydney. High Court of Australia cases 1997 in Australian law Australian constitutional law Excise in the Australian Constitution cases 1997 in case law Tobacco case law Tobacco in Australia

Facts

Decision

See also

References