FISH AND CHIPS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21809, 25 May 1934, Page 14

FISH AND CHIPS

QUESTION OF MANUFACTURE CASE FOR THE HIGH COURT' If there are any Judges of the High Court of Australia who have no knowledge of fish and chips as fsod for consumption, this democratic combination of two well-known articles of diet will soon give them food for thought. Retailers of fish and chips in New South. Wales have refused to pay sales tax because they say that the fish and chips arte not produced by a process of manufacture within the meaning of the Sales Tax Acts. To test this view the Federal Commissioner of Taxation has brought an action against the owners of an oyster and fish saloon, claiming; £269 for sales tax. When the claim was mentioned in. the High Court in Melbourne recently it was stated that between £4OOO and £SOOO was outstanding in sales tax on fish and chips in Ney.- South Wales. Describing what ho considers to be the process of manufacturing fish and chips, the commissioner says in hia claim: "As part of their business, the defendants purchase fresh fish, clean them, remove their heads and cut the said fish into small pieces for the purpose of frying. When the said small pieces, they are first placed in a mixture of flour and water and then placed into hot oil or dripping. As another part of their business the defendants purchase potatoes, which they peel and cut into small pieces and then place them in fat and boil until they are cooked." This preparation, says the commissioner, is a process of manufacture. The defendants deny this, and say that they are nob manufacturers within the meaning of the Act. - The claim came before the High Court on an application by the commissioner to have the action transferred to Melbourne for hearing. The application was granted on condition that the commissioner paid any additional cost incurred to the defendants' by the transfer.