British supermarkets will no longer have to pay millions in business rates for cash machines outside stores.
Following a ruling by the Appeal Court, supermarkets will be refunded around £300 million in payments that they have already paid.
A Tesco spokesman said: “We recognise the vital role that ATMs play in the daily lives of our customers and remain committed to providing this service to them.”
“We welcome today’s result and the confirmation of our belief that ATMs should not be separately rateable.”
The money that will be refunded will come partly from the government and partly by local authorities.
Supermarkets to immediately benefit from going straight to the Court of Appeal are Tesco (LON: TSCO), Sainsbury’s (LON: SBRY) and the Co-op.
A Co-op spokesperson said: “The case had threatened the viability of the ATM network, and risked the future of much-needed banking services across communities.”
The ruling will erase previous fears that the free-to-use cash machines outside of supermarkets may disappear.
In September, the BBC reported that the free-to-use cash machines were being closed at record rates. Over 250 cash machines were closing per month.
Robert Hayton, who is the head of UK business rates at Altus, said: “This is the latest in a series of cases which flow from Councils’ need to increase their business rates income.”
“This landmark ruling and the tax rebates that will flow from it will have massive implications for councils and their budgets under business rate retention which could potentially impact upon local services.”