‘The Supreme Court (‘SC’) on 1 November 2017 handed down judgment in Littlewoods Ltd and others v. HMRC [2017] UKSC 70. In a judgment of Lords Reed and Hodge (with whom Lords Neuberger, Clarke and Carnwath) agreed, the SC has unanimously allowed HMRC’s appeal against the decisions below of both Henderson J and the Court of Appeal (Arden, Patten and Floyd LJJ). The headline grabbing outcome is that approximately £17 billion of compound interest does not have to be paid by the Revenue to taxpayers who overpaid VAT and made Fleming claims for recovery. But the SC’s reasoning is of much wider interest.’
Blackstone Chambers, 2nd November 2017
Source: www.blackstonechambers.com
