Rupinder Brar company ordered to pay thousands of dollars in costs to the ATO over tax issue.
DAMON JOHNSTON
April 18, 2025
A company associated with the operator of a dodgy international college who sat next to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a suspected ALP fundraising dinner has been ordered to pay the tax man almost $3400.
The Federal Court ordered Horizon Group Trevor Pty Ltd to cover the Australian Taxation Office’s costs after it launched legal action against the company relating to a tax issue.
The ATO’s deputy commissioner this week hauled Horizon Group Trevor into court in a bid to “wind up” the company that international college owner and property developer Rupinder Brar is a current shareholder in and a former director and secretary of. Mr Brar’s business associate Sarabjot Dhillon is also a shareholder and current director and secretary of the firm.
The ATO’s action was dismissed in the Federal Court on Wednesday after the court heard consent orders were agreed to.
While dismissing the action, judicial registrar Geoff Segal ordered Horizon Group Trevor to pay the tax office $3376 to cover its costs.
The specific details of the tax issue were not referenced in court, and the ATO declined to comment.
“The ATO is unable to comment due to taxpayer confidentiality laws and it would not be appropriate to comment on matters before the courts,” a spokesperson said.
Mr Brar declined to detail the nature of the legal issue with the ATO.
“The Horizon Group matter was dismissed, not discontinued or settled,” he told The Australian.
The tax twist comes as The Australian can reveal Mr Brar’s property development arm was awarded an extension of a planning permit for an 18-storey apartment and retail tower beset by delays.
The Rolls-Royce-driving Indian-Australian millionaire has now been given until June 2026 by the City of Port Phillip to start developing the prime site in South Melbourne.
The corner block – known as both 200 Wells Street and 28 Park Street – sits just off St Kilda Road. While it’s listed as the headquarters for a number of Brar companies, including Horizon Group Trevor, doesn’t appear to be in use.
“Our specific plans for the site are private and confidential,” Mr Brar told The Australian on Friday.
“We are committed to delivering the best outcome for local residents and businesses and all Melburnians.”
Mr Brar owns the South Melbourne site through his company Wells St Developments Pty Ltd. Property records reveal that Cartel Land Pty Ltd, a company run by Pankaj Goyal, took a caveat over the property on February 18 this year.
Mr Brar described Mr Goyal as a “business partner” in the development and said he was not an “external lender”.
The South Melbourne building also carries a large sign identifying it as “Punvec House”, the name of Mr Brar’s main property investment company, The Punvec Group.
City of Port Phillip Mayor Louise Crawford confirmed the council had extended the original planning permit issued seven years ago and the new deadline to start work on the site was June 27, 2026.
“About 2018 we issued a permit for the land at 28-30 Park Street, South Melbourne, to be used for a mixed-use development including apartments, offices and shops,” Ms Crawford said.
“There was a successful application by the developer for an extension to the permit in 2024. We understand the development was delayed due to impacts from the Covid -19 pandemic.”
The ATO’s court action is the second legal issue for Mr Brar this year and follows a move by federal regulators to shut his foreign student business, Barkly International College, over noncompliance.
The PM’s principal private secretary, David Epstein, also attended the dinner.
Former Victorian Labor premier Daniel Andrews also attended the banquet at which Mr Brar sat next to Mr Albanese. All three figures have dodged questions about whether the dinner – described by one guest as “four hours of exquisite cuisine and hospitality” – was a Labor fundraiser and, if so, how much money was raised, and what was discussed.
The Administrative Review Tribunal last month dismissed an application by BIC to continue teaching foreign students pending an appeal against its deregistration.
The Australian Skills Quality Authority cancelled BIC’s registration after an investigation found it had breached 30 regulations covering training, assessment, enrolment, marketing and governance systems, including a lack of training for students, insufficient trainers and educational support services and facilities to support students.
Mr Brar has previously told The Australian that BIC had lodged another stay application and would continue “full steam ahead” with its appeal in an attempt to save BIC, which mainly caters for Indian students.
Mr Brar has made a fortune out of property investments, in one case pocketing a $22m profit when a company associated with him bought a Craigieburn block for $11m and sold it a year later for $33m.
Four months after paying $11m, the Victorian government announced Amazon was locating to a nearby industrial estate.
Mr Brar has told The Australian the business had “no knowledge” that Amazon was moving nearby when it bought the block.
Mr Brar’s company sold the block for $33m to property investment firm Cadence in November 2022 which, in turn, sold the land to Amazon for $79m.
