Annual administrative tax on telecom operators overhauled: €20,000 a year

Article 90 of the 2003 Amending Finance Act rewrites Article 45 of the 1987 Finance Act. The application fee charged when licences were issued is abolished. Telecom operators authorised under Articles L. 33-1 and L. 34-1 of the Post and Telecommunications Code pay an annual administrative tax of €20,000, halved if their activity is limited to the overseas departments or covers at most one mainland department, and quadrupled for operators with significant market power listed by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. Experimental activities of up to three years are exempt. The tax is due on 1 December and prorated in the first and last years. The flat fee for frequency interference is set at €450 per intervention. According to the explanatory memorandum, the overhaul applies the principle of strict coverage of administrative costs in the European authorisation directives. The new scale applies to taxes collected for 2003.