High Court upholds Rank's VAT win

8th Jun 2009 13:21

A High Court judge has upheld a ruling that bingo and gaming group Rank Group overpaid VAT on gaming machines for more than five years.Last year, the VAT & Duties Tribunal ruled that the inconsistent application of VAT to interval bingo and gaming machines contravened the European Union's principle of fiscal neutrality.After that judgement, Rank received £59.1m from the tax office for VAT paid on interval bingo between 2003 and 2008. Rank is also entitled to interest.Rank added that its claim for £26m of VAT paid on traditional gaming machines between 2002 and 2005 has also been upheld by both the Tribunal and the High Court. Interval bingo is played on machines during the intervals between rounds of traditional bingo. The other claim relates to slot machines in Rank's Mecca Bingo outlets and Grosvenor casinos. The Tribunal is scheduled to reconvene during October 2009 to rule on a number of outstanding considerations, including whether its ruling should apply to the claim period in its entirety.Accountants suggest that the ruling could spark a flood of similar claims and cost the Revenue £500m in total. HMRC has until 29 June 2009 to submit an appeal against the High Court's decision.