UK tax authority wins appeal in dispute with Bolt that could affect Uber

LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - Britain's tax authority on Friday won an appeal in a dispute with Estonian ride-hailing and food delivery company Bolt, a ruling that could affect rival Uber's similar case worth over £1 billion ($1.3 billion).

Bolt had argued in its £190 million dispute with HM Revenue and Customs that it was liable to charge value added tax of 20% on its margin, rather than on the entire fare charged to customers.

But London's Court of Appeal ruled in HMRC's favour, overturning two lower tribunal decisions. The court said Bolt should not be allowed to use a tax scheme originally designed for tour operators or travel agents, called the Tour Operators Margin Scheme (TOMS).

Uber has a similar case pending, which has been on hold while Bolt's case proceeded. A London tribunal said in a ruling last year that Uber had deposited disputed tax sums of £1.446 billion.

A Bolt spokesperson said the company was disappointed by the ruling and "will consider all options available to us".

An HMRC spokesperson said: "We welcome the Court of Appeal's judgment, which confirms our position on the VAT treatment of private hire vehicle operator services of passenger transport."

($1 = 0.7457 pounds)

(Reporting by Sam Tobin. Editing by William James and Mark Potter)