The High Court judgment in Littlewoods Retail: compound interest on overpaid VAT

Henderson J’s decision in Littlewoods Retail Ltd and others v HMRC [2014] EWHC 868 (Ch) is a major milepost on a long and twisting journey. It confronts the problem of when compound interest is payable on overpaid VAT and clarifies many of the vexed questions, while recognising the exceptional nature of that case. On the core issue of what is meant by ‘an adequate indemnity’, it was decided that EU law requires payment of an amount of interest which is ‘broadly commensurate with the loss suffered by the taxpayer of the use value of the tax which he has overpaid, running from the date of payment until the date of repayment’. Simple interest alone would not suffice. Given the amounts of revenue at stake, further appeals are expected.