Legislation
UK – Rank and Betfred win landmark FOBT VAT case
By Phil - 22 April 2020
UK betting groups Rank and Betfred have won a long-running battle against the UK tax authority concerning value-added tax on FOBTs.
The tax tribunal led by Justice Anthony Mann and Judge Thomas Scott accepted Betfred’s claims that collecting VAT on FOBTs between 2005 and 2013 had breached the ‘EU test of fiscal neutrality.’
Betfred said: “This is a historical tax case where the Upper Tribunal has agreed with the original court decision in July 2018 that licensed betting offices were wrongly charged VAT on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals between 2005 and 2013 before the introduction of machine games duty. We will not be making any further comment as HMRC is still able to seek permission to have an appeal on the matter heard by the Court of Appeal.”
An HMRC spokesperson added: “HMRC is considering carefully the Upper Tribunal decisions before deciding on next steps.”
