New guidance on historic VAT claims

HMRC has issued new guidance on how to deal with VAT repayment claims following the introduction of new time limits over a decade ago.

The government introduced a three year limitation period for repayment claims for overpaid VAT in 1996/97. However, following an appeal by Marks & Spencer PLC in 2002, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that the UK had breached principals of community law because it had failed to provide an adequate transitional period to allow claims to be submitted before the time limit took effect.

Continued...