- The Soft Drinks Industry Levy applies to UK-produced or imported soft drinks with added sugar since April 2018.
- Millennium Cash & Carry Ltd appealed regarding SDIL credits for exported drinks.
- Millennium accepted it was not entitled to the credits but argued HMRC could not withdraw them due to defective regulations.
- HMRC claimed an implied mechanism existed to withdraw unentitled claims.
- Millennium corrected some SDIL returns, removing export credit claims.
- The tribunal found HMRC had implied powers to verify corrected returns but not for periods without corrections.
- HMRC could assess Millennium for unpaid SDIL due to incorrect credit reductions.
- For periods with only credits claimed and no SDIL due, HMRC could not remove the credit balance.
- Millennium’s appeal was partially successful.
Source: taxscape.deloitte.com
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
