Ireland's practitioners win EUR50m VAT refund

Optical practitioners in Ireland are celebrating an estimated €50m VAT windfall after the Office of the Revenue Commissioners accepted that the sale of spectacles and contact lenses constitutes two supplies - a taxable supply of goods and a tax-exempt service provision.

The settlement brings a 10-year battle to have the dual supply recognised, which stemmed from the change in the treatment of VAT in the UK, and comes more than three years after the Appeal Commissioner decided dual supply was right in principle.

The case was brought by the Association of Optometrists Ireland (AOI), but all practitioners in the Republic are able to make claims. While some who have contested their VAT bill from the beginning of the dispute will be able to make claims dating back more than 10 years, most will only seek repayment for the past four.