Supreme Court denies leave to appeal transfer case

Summary

The Supreme Court dismissed Kensington Developments Limited (In Receivership)'s application for leave to appeal the Court of Appeal's decision, granting a transfer of the challenge proceeding filed in the Taxation Review Authority ("TRA") to the High Court.

Facts

The Commissioner of Inland Revenue ("the Commissioner") applied to the High Court to transfer a challenge commenced by the applicant in the TRA to the High Court.

The applicant, a company controlled by Mr J G Russell, opposed the transfer application. The High Court and the Court of Appeal both ruled in favour of the Commissioner.

The applicant sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, advancing cost-related grounds for not allowing the transfer to the High Court where Mr Russell, being a non-lawyer, would not be able to represent the disputant company.

Decision

The Supreme Court dismissed the leave application as the statutory criteria for appeal had not been made out.

The considerations raised by the applicant on the interlocutory issue of the transfer had been fully considered by both the High Court and the Court of Appeal.