Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Topic

Spectrum utilization fee

Legal area

Court

28 Jul 2020

CHINA MOBILE HONG KONG CO LTD v. COMMISSIONER OF INLAND REVENUE

Citation

[2020] HKCFI 1649
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCIA2/2017

The Court held the Upfront SUFs were capital in nature because they were once‑only lump sum payments made to acquire exclusive long‑term rights to use specified spectrum and to secure carrier licences, thereby creating an enduring advantage and enlarging the taxpayer’s permanent profit‑earning structure; accordingly the payments were not deductible under s17(1)(c) IRO.
24 Aug 2018

HONG KONG TELECOMMUNICATIONS (HKT) LTD v. SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ANOTHER

Citation

[2018] HKCFI 1976
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCAL448/2018

Although the Applicant demonstrated a serious issue to be tried, on the balance of convenience and having regard to the public interest and the Authority's specialist assessment that a transitional period of about two years is required for network reconfiguration, the risk of public harm from delaying the reassignment (inability to put auctioned spectrum to immediate use at start of new term) outweighed the Applicant's commercial risks; accordingly interim stay was refused.