The taxpayer challenged the ‘pay first’ rule under VAT which required them, before challenging a VAT assessment, first to deposit the VAT said to be due under the assessment.
Held: The appeal failed. There had not been shown any true comparator among domestic claims sufficient to engage the principle of equivalence in relation to the imposition of a pay-first requirement upon traders seeking to appeal assessments to VAT.
Lady Hale, President, Lord Sumption, Lord Carnwath, Lord Hodge, Lord Briggs
[2018] UKSC 44, [2018] STI 1496, [2018] WLR(D) 531, [2018] STC 1642, [2018] 1 WLR 4053, [2018] BVC 38, UKSC 2017/0023
Bailii, Bailii Summary, WLRD, SC, SC Summary, SC Summary Video, SC 2018 Apr 25 am Video, SC 2018 Apr 25 pm Video, SC 2018 Apr 26 am Video
England and Wales
Citing:
At CA – Totel Ltd v Revenue and Customs CA 20-Dec-2016
Claim that the UK’s VAT prepayments rule infringes European law. . .
Cited – Edilizia Industriale Siderurgica v Ministero delle Finanze ECJ 15-Sep-1998
ECJ (Judgment) Recovery of sums paid but not due – Procedural time-limits under national law
Orse EDIS v Ministero delle Finanze . .
Cited – Levez v T H Jennings (Harlow Pools) Ltd ECJ 1-Dec-1998
Regulations debarred a claim after a certain time even where the delay had been because of a deliberate concealment of information by an employer.
Held: Availability of other means of redress was not sufficient to displace this rule.
Cited – Revenue and Customs v Stringer, Ainsworth and Others HL 10-Jun-2009
In each case, the employee had retired after long term sickness. The Employment tribunal had upheld their ability to claim arrears of sickness pay arising under the 1998 Regulations, as an unlawful deduction from their wages. They now appealed . .
Cited – Marks and Spencer Plc v Commissioners of Customs and Excise Admn 21-Dec-1998
The limitation period for the recovery of overpaid VAT was alleged to offend the principle of equivalence.
Held: Moses J said: ‘In my judgment no comparison can be made with other types of tax such as income tax payable in respect of an . .
Cited – Preston and Others v Wolverhampton Healthcare NHS Trust and Others, Fletcher and Others v Midland Bank Plc (No 2) HL 8-Feb-2001
Part-time workers claimed that they had been unlawfully excluded from occupational pension schemes because membership was dependent on an employee working a minimum number of hours per week and that that was discriminatory because a considerably . .
Cited – Compass Contract Services (Taxation – Value Added Tax Taxation : Judgment) ECJ 14-Jun-2017
The case involved a comparison between different limitation periods applicable to claims to recover overpaid VAT, and claims to deduct input tax from VAT otherwise due, for the purposes of the equal treatment principle. The Fourth Chamber of the . .
Cited – Littlewoods Retail Ltd and Others v Her Majesty’s Commissioners of Revenue and Customs ECJ 19-Jul-2012
(Grand Chamber) Second and Sixth VAT Directives – Input tax – Refund of excess – Payment of interest – Procedures
The court considered whether on repayment to a taxpayer of wrongly imposed VAT, the interest returned with the repayment should be . .
Cited – Reemtsma Cigarettenfabriken v Ministero delle Finanze ECJ 8-Jun-2006
It was alleged that a provision limiting the identity of those who could claim a VAT repayment offended against the principle of equivalence because there was no comparable restriction in relation to the recovery of overpaid direct tax.
Held: . .
Cited – Transportes Urbanos Y Servicios Generales (Principles Of Community Law) ECJ 26-Jan-2010
(Grand chamber) Procedural autonomy of the Member States – Principle of equivalence – Action for damages against the State – Breach of European Union law – Breach of the Constitution . .
Cited – Virginie Pontin v T-Comalux SA (Social Policy) ECJ 31-Mar-2009
ECJ Social policy – Protection of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding Directive 92/85/EEC Articles 10 and 12 Prohibition of dismissal from the beginning of pregnancy . .
Cited – HM Revenue and Customs v Changtel Solutions UK Ltd CA 28-Jan-2015
The Court was asked whether, when there is both (i) an appeal against a VAT assessment pending in the tax tribunal, and (ii) a winding-up petition pending in the Companies court, the tax tribunal or the Companies court is the appropriate forum to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 10 August 2021; Ref: scu.620140
