Major UK insurer Prudential has moved closer to obtaining more than £100 million in tax refund from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in a 13-year dispute over claims that the tax agency broke European rules.
The Court of Appeal on Tuesday rejected almost all of the arguments raised by the HMRC against an earlier ruling that favoured Prudential, The Financial Times reported.
Prudential leads 10 other insurers who are also trying to recover tax paid decades ago, when many of the UK tax rules violated European law by treating cross-border transactions less favourably than domestic ones.
The life insurer claimed that from 1990 to 2007, it overpaid tax on foreign dividends which reduced investment returns to with-profits policyholders and shareholders.
The Financial Times report said Prudential refused to comment, but its litigator from the firm Joseph Hage Aaronson said the judgement is “obviously an encouraging result.”
Meanwhile, HMRC said it is “extremely disappointed” with the latest ruling and vowed to appeal it, though it is unclear if it can be done in the Supreme Court.
“Nothing is payable immediately as a consequence of these decisions and we plan to robustly defend our position through future appeals,” The Financial Times quoted the HMRC as saying.
Prudential has not said how it would distribute the compensation it might get by the end of the several hearings, which is still might not be near.
“Whether the final end is in sight after all this time remains to be seen,” the report quoted the judges as saying.
