Sportech to fight £93m VAT repayment ruling
London-based firm lodges application with Court of Appeal after being ordered to repay disputed tax payment
Sportech’s long-running battle with Her Majesty’s Revenues and Customs (HMRC) looks set to continue after the operator this morning confirmed it plans to contest a recent ruling which ordered the company to repay £93m in disputed tax payments.
The London-based firm said it had successfully lodged an application with the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) to appeal to the Court of Appeal regarding overpayments in VAT related to a ‘Spot the Ball’ competition run by Sportech subsidiary Littlewoods between 1979 and 1996.
The operator had been awarded the £93m sum in June, however, the Upper Tribunal last month ruled it must repay the sum in full after HMRC successfully challenged the judgment – a decision which wiped 25% off the company’s share price.
The tussle over the disputed VAT payments dates back to 2010 when Sportech’s claim was initially rejected, however, it successfully lodged a formal appeal against the decision last year and had hoped for an additional £3m payment following the HMRC appeal.
Sportech’s share price was up almost 2% to 54p this morning at the time of writing.