Refund of Overpaid VAT

RNS Number : 0057U

Michael Page International PLC

16 June 2009

REFUND OF OVERPAID VAT

Michael Page International plc (MPI) announces that it has received £26m, net of fees, from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

In 2003 MPI submitted an initial claim to HMRC for overpaid VAT which was rejected. MPI appealed and subsequently filed amended claims covering the period from 1980 to 2004. In March 2009, MPI filed amended claims for a further £80m, net of fees, for overpaid VAT covering the period from 1980 to 2004.

HMRC has partly settled these claims with a payment to MPI of £26m, net of fees. MPI is entitled to receive statutory interest on this amount and is pursuing this.

There remains considerable uncertainty over the length of time to finalise these claims and the final amount, if any, of overpaid VAT and statutory interest that will ultimately be received by MPI from HMRC.

The Group will update the market on further developments relating to the claims when appropriate.

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