Rank Group, the British bingo hall and casino operator, has announced it has received £74.8m in overpaid VAT from HMRC.
The company, which operates 35 casinos and 103 bingo halls in Britain, said it had also been advised that it will receive a further £79.5m of interest relating to this claim later this month.
The repayment covers VAT paid on games of bingo from 1973 to 1996.
These repayments follow successive rulings in Rank's favour in both the First-tier Tribunal's tax chamber (formerly the VAT and Duties Tribunal) and the High Court.
HMRC has appealed these rulings and the claims will now be considered by the European Court of Justice. It is expected that this appeal will be heard in 2011.
If HMRC is successful in its appeal, Rank will make the appropriate repayments.
The claims concern the inconsistent application of VAT to bingo revenue generated by Rank's businesses. It is Rank's contention that this inconsistency contravened the European Union's principle of fiscal neutrality.
