Rank Group loses £30m VAT court battle
UK Supreme Court rules in favour of HMRC in long-running dispute regarding overpaid VAT on Rank's land-based slot machines
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has dismissed an appeal lodged by the Rank Group over claims it overpaid more than £30m in VAT on its land-based slot machines between 2002 and 2005.
The appeal heard on 21 April 2015 raised the question of whether takings from slot machines at the company’s Mecca Bingo clubs and Grosvenor Casinos were subject to VAT during the three-year time period.
However, the UK’s high court today ruled in favour of an earlier Court of Appeal decision from October 2013 which saw Rank repay £25.2m of £30.7m in compensation received from HMRC in May 2010.
“In my view, it is not necessary to resolve this debate, since one can arrive at the same practical answer as the Court of Appeal,” Lord Carnwath, a British Supreme Court judge, said following the ruling.
In a statement this morning Rank Group said it accepted the Supreme Court’s decision and insisted it would not impact the company’s balance sheet ahead of the release of its H1 financial results on 20 August.
The Rank Group’s share price dropped slightly this morning on the London Stock Exchange, down 1.4% to 225p at the time of writing.