The long-running battle between Littlewoods and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, in which the retail group are seeking to recover £1bn in compound interest on overpaid VAT, today returned to the UK courts.
Vos J – who referred the case to Europe in 2010 – held a case management conference clarifying the issues ahead of a planned October trial, in which he will be asked to apply guidance given by the European Court of Justice in the case, which involves the interest payable on overpayments of VAT of £241,001,426 made over more than 30 years between 1973 and 2004.
HMRC repaid simple interest of £268,159,135, but the Littlewoods group of companies are seeking to recover additional compound interest amounting to some £1bn.
In July, the ECJ referred the case back to the high court with guidance, effectively ruling that it is for the national courts to determine whether simple interest or compound interest should apply.
The parties disagree on the full effect of the ECJ’s guidance, and the resumed trial in October is expected to last up to 10 days.
Littlewoods Retail Limited v The Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs Chancery (Vos J) 30 January 2013
