Bond House, which challenged the legality of the UK’s Revenue authority in withholding VAT reimbursements, has been awarded a £13.2 million settlement in the European Court of Justice.
Bond House and their advising VAT consultants Bentley Jennison were waiting for the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling to determine whether or not the methods of VAT collection employed by HM Revenue and Customs are illegal and contrary to EU VAT Law.
The decision was announced in Luxembourg in January. HMRC was found to have acted unlawfully, and it is estimated the decision will cost the Treasury hundreds of millions of pounds as other companies make their claims.
Ian Prescott, director of Bond House Systems, West Yorkshire, said, “For the past three years we have been forced to cease trading after the withdrawal of a VAT refund of £13.2m. We had to make 20 people redundant, myself and the other business directors and their families have suffered terribly as a result of the Customs actions. It has been a long and painful battle and we are satisfied with the outcome, although Customs should never have been able to act in this way.”