Asciano Services Pty Ltd v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue

Taxes and duties – Duty payable on lease instrument – Lease defined as agreement "by which" a right to use land is conferred on or acquired by a person – Appellant entered into rail access agreement with Rail Access Corporation giving appellant access rights to rail lines and rail infrastructure facilities – Statute provided party to access agreement with right to access land in or on which rail infrastructure facilities situated – Whether access agreement dutiable as agreement "by which" a right to use land is conferred on or acquired by a person – Whether statute imposing duty refers to source of rights to use land or directs attention to what is received by grantee – Interrelationship between statute conferring right to access land and access agreement.

Taxes and duties – Duty payable on lease instrument – Whether rail lines and rail infrastructure facilities themselves land in which grantee under access agreement acquired rights.

Statutes – Construction – Statute vests rail lines and rail infrastructure facilities in grantor and land in or on which rail lines and rail infrastructure facilities lie in another statutory body – Whether grantor under access agreement able to grant rights to access land owned by other body.

Statutes – Construction – Relevance of general law principles of property to rights with respect to land created by statute for statutory purposes.

Words and phrases – "by which", "conferred on or acquired by", "right to use land".

Duties Act 1997 (NSW) – ss 164, 164A(b), 166(1)(a).

Transport Administration Act 1988 (NSW) – Sched 6A, cl 5(1).