An arbitration panel has dismissed a request from state-owned telco CAT Telecom to be compensated by Advanced Info Service (AIS) for revenue losses as part of the dispute over mobile concession prices.
CAT was seeking Bt3.4bn (US$112m) from Digital Phone…
An arbitration panel has dismissed a request from state-owned telco CAT Telecom to be compensated by Advanced Info Service (AIS) for revenue losses as part of the dispute over mobile concession prices.
CAT was seeking Bt3.4bn (US$112m) from Digital Phone (DPC), a 98.55%-owned subsidiary of AIS, in excise taxes paid on its revenue between 2003 and 2007.
According to reports, the state-owned company said it lost about Bt41bn (US$1.3bn) because of the excise tax imposed on three concession holders: DPC, DTAC and True Move.
But in a notice to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, AIS wrote that the panel rejected CAT’s request because “DPC was not in breach of the agreement since DPC has completely made the payment of the revenue sharing and all debt was therefore paid in full. Therefore, CAT has no right to re-claim for the alleged deficit amount, including the penalty and the value added tax.”
CAT has reportedly decided to appeal that decision.
Both CAT and the other state-owned company TOT have been seeking compensation from several mobile operators since the end of last year following an investigation into the mobile concession dispute.
In 2003, the former government changed its concession regime in order to reduce costs for consumers and to allegedly benefit some cellcos. But in 2007, the Council of State reportedly ruled that those changes failed to comply with regulations, as they had not been approved by coordinating committees and the Cabinet.
