European Court of Justice rejects VAT rebate claimsBritish 3G licensees may not reclaim billions of euros in what they say they paid as value-added tax when they bought UMTS licences, according to a ruling by the European Union’s highest court. Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile, Orange and Hutchison argued that VAT was levied by the government, but the UK tax authorities maintained there was no VAT component in the fees for the licences, which were sold in 2000. The operators had hoped to reclaim GBP3.3 billion (USD6.6 billion) from a total bill of GBP22.5 billion.
The court also ruled against T-Mobile Austria and others in a similar case in that country. The cases were being watched closely by operators across the EU, where many national governments pocketed billions of euros in return for third-generation licences.
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