Supreme Court ruling in Littlewoods

The Supreme Court has roundly rejected the taxpayers’ claims for compound interest on VAT repayments in Littlewoods Ltd & Others v HMRC. The judgment marks a shift in the approach of the UK courts to whether EU law rights might override our domestic statutory regime, ruling clearly that the intention of Parliament in creating a statutory regime with limitations must be respected and those limitations cannot easily be reached around by reliance on EU rights. The decision resolves a potential exposure to £17bn of claims for the UK government.