Mobile operators set for VAT dogfight
Mobile operators that bid for 3G licences are taking steps to reclaim an estimated £3.9bn in VAT from Customs & Excise, but are facing a long hard fight as the government tries to hold onto falling tax revenues.
Link: Mobile providers will fail
The mobile operators, most of whom are crippled by massive debts from bidding for and paying for the licences, must prove that VAT was included in the auctions to win a rebate.
According to the FT, they have now written to the Radio Communications Agency, the body which sold the licences, demanding copies of VAT invoices.
One operator, Dutch telecom KPN, has already been told by the RCA that the auction did not include VAT.