| Peterswald v Bartley | |
|---|---|
| Court | High Court of Australia |
| Full case name | Peterswald v Bartley |
| Date decided | 31 August 1904 |
| Citation(s) | (1904) 1 CLR 497 |
| Judge(s) sitting | Griffith CJ, Barton and O'Connor JJ |
| Case history | |
| Prior action(s) | none |
| Subsequent action(s) | none |
| Case 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:
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.