Issue
Is a street sweeper, which gathers waste matter into its hopper for later disposal, a vehicle for transporting goods for the purposes of subsection 43(1) of the Energy Grants (Credits) Scheme Act 2003 (EGCSA)?
Decision
Yes. A street sweeper which gathers waste matter into its hopper for later disposal is a vehicle for transporting goods for the purposes of subsection 43(1) of the EGCSA.
Facts
An entity carries on an enterprise providing a road sweeping service. In carrying on this enterprise the entity operates a diesel powered street sweeper.
The street sweeper is designed specifically for cleaning streets using two functions.
The first function is to gather the waste matter into its hopper. It does this by way of hydraulically operated brushes that brush the waste matter into the path of the vacuum nozzle which then sucks the waste into the hopper. The hopper is that part of the vehicle that stores the waste allowing it to be transported to the dump site.
The second function is to transport the waste to a location where it can be dumped.
The street sweeper meets the following eligibility requirements of subsection 43(1) of the EGCSA: • it has a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 4.5 tonnes or more, but less than 20 tonnes, and • it is registered for use on a public road.
Reasons for Decision
Subsection 43(1) of the EGCSA provides that a claimant is entitled to an on-road credit if they purchase, or import into Australia, on-road diesel fuel, or on-road alternative fuel, for: ... (a) use in a registered vehicle that has a gross vehicle mass of 4.5 tonnes or more, but less than 20 tonnes, where the vehicle is a vehicle for transporting passengers or goods; or ...
As the street sweeper otherwise meets the eligibility requirements of subsection 43(1) of the EGCSA, it will be an eligible vehicle if it falls within the description of 'a vehicle for transporting ... goods'.
The expression 'goods' is defined in section 4 of the EGCSA as goods includes a substance and a tangible thing
As the word 'transport' is not defined in the EGCSA the ordinary meaning of the word applies.
Applying the ordinary meaning of 'transport', a vehicle for transporting passengers or goods is a vehicle that carries passengers or goods from one place to another ( Re Port of Brisbane v. Deputy Commissioner of Taxation [2004] AATA 222; (2004) 55 ATR 1029).
To determine if a vehicle is for transporting passengers or goods, consideration may be given to its design. The design of a vehicle may assist in determining whether it is a type of vehicle for carrying passengers or goods. Examples of vehicles for transporting passengers or goods include buses and tanker trucks. Examples of vehicles not for transporting passengers or goods include mobile cherry-pickers, mobile cranes and front-end loaders.
In this case, although the street sweeper is designed specifically for cleaning streets, it has a capacity to transport waste matter in its hopper from the job site to the disposal site. The capacity to transport waste matter is an integral part of the design of the vehicle.
The waste carried in the hopper meets the definition of 'goods' in section 4 of the EGCSA.
Because the street sweeper transports waste matter in its hopper it is a vehicle for transporting goods for the purposes of subsection 43(1) of the EGCSA.