The Supreme Court has unanimously refused permission for the UK’s non-ministerial Government department Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision concerning a Sportech’s VAT repayment claim. The claim has been estimated to £97 million.
The British online gambling and entertainment company published an official statement on the matter, saying that the Supreme Court’s decision has finally put the matter to an end after an epic legal battle that lasted several years.
The Chief Executive Officer of the UK gaming company Ian Penrose said that the entire team of Sportech was pleased that the case was now brought to an end after eight years in court.
The claim was first referred to in March 2009, with Sportech asking HMRC to repay VAT estimated to over £40 million, which had been overpaid on its Spot the Ball game in the period from 1979 to 1996. Three years later, in October 2012 the First-tier Tribunal’s Tax Chamber (FTT) heard the claim, and then announced ruling in Sportech’s favour in March 2013. HMRC subsequently filed an application for getting a permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal, but the FTT rejected it. Then, HMRC filed an application directly to the Upper Tribunal and it was granted the desired permission.
The Upper Tribunal heard HMRC claim in April 2014 and May 2014 and a few months later – in September 2014 it ruled in favour of non-ministerial Government department. However, at the beginning of 2015, Sportech got the right to address the case to the Court of Appeal and the hearing was scheduled for April 8th, 2016.
In May, the Court of Appeal unanimously ruled in favour of the online gambling operator, but the HMRC addressed it, seeking permission to appeal the matter to the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal refused the HMRC’s request, and on June 6th, 2016 the non-ministerial department applied to be permitted to get the matter to the Supreme Court without further ado.
Sportech received a total of £93 million from HMRC on June 29th, 2016. Now, it expects to be granted with further £4 million, and the non-ministerial Government department will also be responsible for paying the costs of the case, which are to be subsequently assessed.
- Author
Daniel Williams
