The Supreme Court has signalled an end to the long-running saga, concluding that the Government should not have continued to apply the charge post-liberalisation
The Court of Justice of the European Union identified inconsistencies between EU and national regulation
On 20 December 2025, TIM announced that it had received notification of the ruling of the Court of Cassation (also known as the Supreme Court) confirming the refund by the Italian Government of €1bn (£867m) for licence fees applied following the liberalisation of the country's telecoms market in 1997. The amount due to TIM is equal to the original licence fee payable in the final year before liberalisation, which was little over €500m (£434m), adjusted upwards for revaluation and accrued interest. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) intervened on this issue on several occasions, pointing out the contrast between the bloc’s directive on the liberalisation of the telecoms sector and Italian regulation that had extended for 1998 the obligation on operators to pay the licence fee. In particular, in 2020, the CJEU ruled that the EU regulatory framework did not allow governments to impose a fee calculated on the basis of licensees' revenues, but only permitted the demand for payment covering the administrative costs connected with the issuance, management, control and implementation of general authorisation and individual license system.
The Government appealed a lower court’s ruling before escalating its challenge
In April 2024, the Rome Court of Appeal issued a ruling in favour of TIM and its claim for a refund of its past licence fee. TIM stated that the ruling was immediately enforceable, thereby enabling it to immediately take steps to recover the amount in question. However, the judgment was then challenged by the Italian Government’s Presidency of the Council of Ministers. In January 2025, that same court rejected that appeal. However, the Government then took the ruling to the Supreme Court, requesting that the refund be suspended until the case was heard, citing budgetary constraints. The Supreme Court’s decision on the matter came later than expected, with the court requiring additional time to determine whether the Rome Court of Appeal had the necessary jurisdiction to approve the repayment.
The refund may see TIM resume dividend payments
With jurisdiction confirmed, the Supreme Court’s final ruling has rejected the Government’s appeal, signalling the end to a dispute that has lasted for more than 20 years. While the level of the refund is not expected to have a material impact on the Government’s aim to reduce its budget deficit, it will be a welcome relief for TIM who has actively been pursuing options to reduce its debt load, including by selling off its fixed assets. It may also help TIM begin effecting a long-awaited plan to convert its investors’ ‘savings shares’ into ordinary stock (eliminating its current ‘dual-class share’ system) and enable the operator to restart dividend payments, which it suspended in 2022.
