Economic Development Minister Alan Maclean said that a decision on whether to appeal against the Low Value Consignment Relief ruling would be made by the end of the week. The Senator added that the costs of the court challenge were not yet known, but they would be made public.
The High Court ruled that the UK was within its rights to shut down the Channel Islands’ access to LVCR, the threshold under which goods can be shipped into the UK without attracting VAT.
That move will have a serious effect on Jersey’s internet mail order industry selling CDs and DVDs to customers in the UK. Around a thousand people are employed in the trade, with up to a further 1,000 indirectly dependent on it, and hundreds of jobs are expected to be lost as a result of the ruling. Senator Maclean said that Jersey’s Law Officers’ department and the PwC lawyers who handled the case in London were still studying the written judgment by judge Justice Mitting.
Full story in Wednesday’s JEP
