The French government has been ordered by a tribunal in Paris to repay telecom operators for the tax on their licences. Claims submitted by operators could amount to as much as EUR 64 million, with Cegetel, LDCom, SFR and Tele2 all expected to submit claims, according to a report in Tribune Desfosses. However, the companies will need to submit their claims before end-2003. The ruling follows a lawsuit brought in 1999 by GTS, which has since gone out of business, which claimed that the French government imposed an excessive tax rate on its telecom licences.
