Court rules 3G licences weren't VAT inclusive
Mobile firms feel pain yet again
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Europe's highest court has ruled that the huge amounts telcos paid for their 3G licences didn't include VAT, so there's no opportunity for the companies to reclaim £3.3bn quid from the treasury.
The companies have long argued that the amount paid must have included the tax, which could then be reclaimed, and the case has been wending its way though national and international courts leading to today's ruling. This is, however, the end of the line with no scope for appeal.
The total cost of the various legal challenges isn't known, nor is it clear who drew up the documents which allowed such ambiguity to exist, but at least we can be clear that the £22bn spent on the 3G licenses was exclusive of VAT.®
COMMENTS
No Expiry Fro GSM
as far as I can find out, in the Uk the GSM licenses have no expiry date, so there is no deadline for transfrring to 3G. Also no hooks for the operators to make us change. Looks like someone really didn't do their sums, with the advent of decent availability for WiFi and the download rates you can get on that 3G might just be a very large white elephant
Carousel fraud irony
How ironic… organised crime gangs make billions of pounds a year exploiting loop-holes in tax laws to claim VAT on (mostly) mobile phones that they claim they are shipping around Europe and claim the VAT on each transaction (known as Carousel fraud), when the Telco providers themselves get stiffed for not being clever enough or understanding tax laws!!
Of course you can laugh all you want, but the Telco’s will have the last laugh; charging higher prices on the services that you DO use to cover the cost of the ones you DON’T. OFCOM are a joke at overseeing consumer protection, and I am sure the Government will turn a blind eye to allow the Telco’s to recoup their losses; otherwise they won’t buy the licences for the next “BIG” technology franchise!!
Pleeaasee what were they thinking ?
You are dealing with the Treasury. This is a direct descendant of the Robber Barons. They only know how to extract your money into their hands. Witness the Child Credit fiasco when they had to do pay out :-)
What were these people thinking ? VAT is something collected by HM Robbers & Cheats. Refunds are only permitted under extreme circumstances; you might have a carousel. Important point to note : - They are NOT registered for VAT; even if with their turnover they should be.
As someone else pointed out 'NOT on the invoice" then no VAT included. Same for dealings with a non-VAT registered company you can't use it on your VAT return.
How could business's be so niave ?
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