Sportech ?93m VAT hearing set for April
Long-running dispute with UK tax authority set to be heard on 7 or 8 April
Sportech’s multi-million pound dispute with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over a ?93m VAT refund is set to be resolved at an appeals hearing in April.
The case will be heard by the Court of Appeals on either 7th or 8th of the month and will address Sportech’s appeal against a ruling last year that it must return ?93m previously re-claimed in overpaid VAT.
The payment relates to the ‘Spot the Ball’ competition operated by its subsidiary Littlewoods between 1979 and 1996.
The firm won the right to appeal against the ruling in January, having previously pledged to fight the decision which had wiped 25% off its share price when announced.
Sportech was initially awarded the ?93m in June last year following a long-running case against the UK tax authority dating back to 2010.
The Court of Appeal was initially meant to review the case in November last year, but delayed the hearing due to a lack of judicial availability.
Sportech’s share price was up 4.35% to 60.00p at the time of writing.