Business
Main stage bingo VAT claim
Main stage bingo VAT claim.
About this update from Rank Group Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n RNS Number : 9582D Rank Group PLC 11 December 2009 \n\n\n\n\n11 December 2009\n\nRank Group announcement on main stage bingo VAT claim\n\nThe Rank Group Plc ('Rank') notes the recent guidance received from Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs ('HMRC') regarding claims for VAT overpaid on games of bingo. HMRC's 'Revenue & Customs Brief 75/09' states that VAT claims on main stage bingo will be treated in the same way as similar claims relating to interval bingo.\n\nRank has submitted a claim for VAT overpaid on main stage bingo for periods from July 2004. If successful, Rank estimates that the net cash benefit arising from this claim will be approximately £16m (before interest).\n\nIn 2008, the VAT & Duties Tribunal ruled that the application of VAT to revenue from games of interval bingo contravened the European Union principle of fiscal neutrality. In June 2009 this ruling was upheld by the High Court. HMRC continues to appeal the ruling and its appeal will be heard by the Court of Appeal in April 2010.\n\nEnds\n\nContacts:\nThe Rank Group Dan Waugh, director of investor relations 01628 504053 \nFinancial Dynamics Ben Foster/Marc Cohen 020 7831 3113 \n\n\nNotes to editors: \nMain stage bingo\nMain stage bingo is the traditional format of bingo played in licensed bingo clubs, played predominantly with paper and pen.\n\nInterval bingo\nInterval bingo or mechanised cash bingo is a shorter format of bingo, played predominantly using counters and a bingo board.\n\nFiscal neutrality\nThe European Union's law of fiscal neutrality requires that supplies of services that are the same or similar should be not be treated differently for VAT purposes. This position was confirmed in the European Court of Justice case Finanzamt v Linneweber (2005).\n\n About The Rank Group Plc \nThe Rank Group Plc is a leading European gaming and betting business, based in the UK and listed on t...