Words and Phrases - "bar"

The registrant, a jeweller, purchased gold bars with 99% purity on an exempt basis, and then cut the bars (sometimes with further modeling or rolling) into smaller rectilinear pieces, which it then sold to customers without charging GST. After noting the reliance by the registrant on the ordinary dictionary meanings of "bar," "ingot" and "wafer," Margenson J found that these terms should be given their technical rather than ordinary meaning. Accordingly, the pieces were required to have a readily ascertainable value, in order that they generally were readily transferable. Because the pieces instead had been tranformed out of standard deliverable form, this requirement was not satisfied as it was obvious that no bank or gold dealer would accept them for delivery without first having them assayed and weighed. Accordingly, the pieces did not qualify as "precious metals" as defined, and their sale was taxable.