Bingo hall and casino operator Rank Group has won a second case against HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) after a tribunal ruled that the company was entitled to a VAT refund totalling nearly £26m.

According to the VAT and Duties Tribunal, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) breached European Union rules on fiscal neutrality due to different levels of VAT applied to jackpot and other similar machines. Tony McClenaghan, senior indirect tax partner at business advisory firm Deloitte, said: "We have always been confident that there was a breach of fiscal neutrality in the differential treatment of the relevant gaming machines and we welcome the Tribunal's confirmation of this fact. Taxpayers affected by this decision should now consider making claims for overpaid VAT."

Earlier this year, Rank Group won a similar case against HMRC after the High Court ruled that the company was entitled to reclaim £62m in overpaid VAT on both interval bingo and gaming machines.