An appointed arbitrator has dismissed a THB 23.16 billion claim by Thai state-owned operator CAT Telecom against DTAC as the latter deducted excise tax from the revenues it shared with its concession parent. DTAC said in a statement that the arbitrator dismissed CAT's claim and that the company is not required to pay the additional revenue share. The administration of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra imposed the controversial telecommunications excise in 2003. The excise tax rules allowed operators to pay the excise tax (2 percent for fixed-line and 10 percent for mobile operators) out of the concession fees before paying the remainder to concession parents TOT or CAT. In 2007 the excise tax rate was reduced to zero. Both TOT and CAT began legal proceedings to seek the amount that was deducted from the private operators.
