The appellants claimed a sales tax exemption under s. 11(o) of the Social Services and Education Tax Act for machinery and apparatus used in their oil refinery expansion.
The Minister had never issued a definition of the exempt machinery and apparatus as contemplated by the Act.
The Court of Appeal held that no exemption could be granted without a ministerial definition.
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, holding that in the absence of a ministerial definition, the exemption applies to all machinery and apparatus coming within the class specified in the Act, as the class is sufficiently described to be ascertainable.
