Peterswald v Bartley

Infobox Court Case
name=Peterswald v Bartley
court=High Court of Australia


date_decided=31 August 1904
full_name=Peterswald v Bartley
citations= [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1904/21.html (1904) 1 CLR 497]
judges= Griffith CJ, Barton and O'Connor JJ
prior_actions=none
subsequent_actions=none
opinions=(3:0) The Court considered the meaning of excise in relation to section 90 (per Griffith CJ, Barton & O'Connor JJ)

"Peterswald v Bartley" (1904) 1 CLR 497 is an early High Court of Australia case that dealt with section 90 of the Australian Constitution, which prohibits States from levying excise.

Per Griffith CJ, an excise is a customs duty imposed on goods either in relation to quantity or value when produced or manufactured and not in the sense of a direct or personal tax. His Honour outlined four elements:
* The goods must be locally produced within the State.
* The tax must be imposed at the point of production or manufacture.
* The tax must be imposed in proportion to the quantity or value of the goods in question.
* It must be an indirect tax that gets passed on to the consumer through a higher price of goods.

His Honour's requirement that the tax be imposed at the point of production or manufacture forms what is known as the narrow approach to section 90. This is no longer the case: "Ha v New South Wales".

See also

* Australian constitutional law

References

* Winterton, G. et al. "Australian federal constitutional law: commentary and materials", 1999. LBC Information Services, Sydney.

External links

* [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1904/21.html Full text of the decision]