Proceedings supported by fractional property investment firm DomaCom in the Federal Court against the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) regarding the interpretation of superannuation regulations have drawn to a close, with the ATO failing to file an appeal in time should it have wished to challenge the decision.
The matter considered whether superannuation legislation allowed investment in the DomaCom fund by a self-managed superannuation fund where a related party was a tenant in the underlying property.
The Court last week ordered a declaration that the leasing of the property by the DomaCom fund would not cause Aussiegolfa Pty Ltd, as trustee of the Benson fund, to breach the sole purpose test imposed by section 62 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act.
It also ordered that Aussiegolfa pay 40 per cent of the ATO’s costs of both the first instance proceeding and the appeal. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal also heard one appeal on the matter, for which the Federal Court ordered that the ATO pay 100 per cent of Aussiegolfa’s costs.
DomaCom said that it would announce the net payment of the above costs in due course should they prove material.
“DomaCom will now focus on addressing the related trust matter and is reviewing our constitution and disclosure documents to address this issue with respect to future sub-funds,” the company’s chief executive, Arthur Naoumidis, said.
The ATO had until 7 September 2018 to file an application for special leave, or for an extension of time to do so, with the High Court should it wish to appeal the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision.
