HMRC has published a new VAT brief which explains what taxpayers with appeals related to the VAT treatment of gaming machines from 6 December 2005 to 31 January 2013 must do to claim VAT refunds.
The guidance applies to businesses with an appeal claiming that HMRC’s treatment of their gaming machine income as standard rated was a breach of fiscal neutrality. This is the final strand to the gaming machines fiscal neutrality legislation, after some 13 years. Revenue and Customs Brief 05/20 covered the first two strands, which were concluded in the Upper Tribunal in The Rank Group Plc and Done Brothers Ltd.
In its decision, the FTT found that the typical consumer would view the games operated by the appellants as similar to the comparator games which were exempt from VAT. This meant that:
there had been a breach of fiscal neutrality because similar supplies of services in competition with each other had been treated differently for VAT purposes; and
the games operated by the appellants were therefore exempt from VAT.
HMRC will now pay valid claims and provides guidance on how to progress a claim. New claims can no longer be made, and a claim will not be considered valid unless it:
was made within the relevant deadline; and
has a related valid appeal lodged with the tribunal.
It should also be noted that the above claims are historical. The law changed on 1 February 2013 when machine games duty was introduced to standardise the taxation of various gaming machines.
HMRC has published a new VAT brief which explains what taxpayers with appeals related to the VAT treatment of gaming machines from 6 December 2005 to 31 January 2013 must do to claim VAT refunds.
The guidance applies to businesses with an appeal claiming that HMRC’s treatment of their gaming machine income as standard rated was a breach of fiscal neutrality. This is the final strand to the gaming machines fiscal neutrality legislation, after some 13 years. Revenue and Customs Brief 05/20 covered the first two strands, which were concluded in the Upper Tribunal in The Rank Group Plc and Done Brothers Ltd.
In its decision, the FTT found that the typical consumer would view the games operated by the appellants as similar to the comparator games which were exempt from VAT. This meant that:
there had been a breach of fiscal neutrality because similar supplies of services in competition with each other had been treated differently for VAT purposes; and
the games operated by the appellants were therefore exempt from VAT.
HMRC will now pay valid claims and provides guidance on how to progress a claim. New claims can no longer be made, and a claim will not be considered valid unless it:
was made within the relevant deadline; and
has a related valid appeal lodged with the tribunal.
It should also be noted that the above claims are historical. The law changed on 1 February 2013 when machine games duty was introduced to standardise the taxation of various gaming machines.
