�3.5 million refund to M&S from Vat man

[Ethel]

http://tinyurl.com/6r2y6m

But the customers paid the VAT - will they be refunded?

[spaced]

thats a good joke ethel, I like it. Of course we wont.

[Ethel]

Booo. I bought a lot of those teacakes during the relevant period.

If only I'd kept the receipts.

[spaced]

you make a totally valid point though. I mean its our money so surely we are entitled to have it returned?

[buildersmate]

It is an incredibly good point, Ethel.

I'm not sure whether M&S failed to charge the VAT on the items in the first place (in which case they were retrospectively being penalised by HMRC who were claiming it be paid to them because they should have been charged) or whether they were just trying to get teacakes zero-rated.

If it is the former then fine - M&S have ended up cash neutral. If it is the latter they should do the decent thing and give the money to charity.

[raysparx1]

Hi Ethel, don't tell anybody else, but I have just had a word with my mate, Stuart Rose, he works for M&S as CEO or something, probably in the warehouse, and he said if you contact him he will give you a pack free of charge. :-)

[Ethel]

That's made my day. :)

[jno]

this was why Revenue didn't want tor epay the money: they said M&S had already taken it from their customers. In theory they will now be able to cut prices of future tea cakes; and they may well do so.

[Gromit]

Not just any old VAT rebate, Its an M&S VAT rebate.