Court win for HMRC over claims for compound interest on overpaid VAT (Littlewoods Retail Ltd and others v HMRC)

Table of contents

• Original news
• What was the background to the case?
• What did the Supreme Court decide, and why?
• Statutory construction
• EU law rights
• To what extent is the judgment helpful in clarifying the law in this area? Are there still any unresolved issues practitioners will need to watch out for?
• How does the decision fit in with other developments in this area of law?
• What are the implications for practitioners? What will they need to be mindful of when advising in this area?

Article summary

Tax analysis: The importance of the Supreme Court’s decision in the long-running Littlewoods VAT case, that HMRC does not need to pay compound interest on overpaid tax, is considered by Jonathan Swift QC, of 11 KBW, and Peter Mantle, of Monckton Chambers.