In Grattan plc v HMRC (No 5) (TC00908 – 17 January) a company (G) sold goods by mail order through agents. It paid commission to these agents. Initially it did not claim a deduction for this commission. However following the ECJ decision in Marks & Spencer plc v C & E Commrs (No 4) [2002] STC 1036 it claimed a retrospective deduction backdated to April 1973. HMRC accepted that the effect of Article 11C(1) of the EC Sixth Directive was that G was entitled to such a deduction for the period from 1 January 1978 but rejected G’s claim for the period from 1973 to 1977 on the basis that neither the EC Second VAT Directive nor FA 1972 gave G the right to make such a deduction. The Tribunal referred the case to the ECJ for a ruling on the interpretation of Article 8...
